


Strange Love

by QueenOfAwesome (TheFabRosevest)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bottom Keith (Voltron), Dark, Dark!Lance, Evil!Lance, Hunk (Voltron) is a Good Friend, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance is himself but has no morals, M/M, Mating Bond, Memory Loss, Not for long tho, Possessive Behavior, Rape/Non-con Elements, Smut, Soul Bond, Stockholm Syndrome, Top Lance (Voltron), like the best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2019-06-27 22:20:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 18
Words: 55,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15694500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFabRosevest/pseuds/QueenOfAwesome
Summary: Lance gets captured and tortured by Haggar during a mission. He returns to the castle ship with the others and everything seems fine, but is it?---The witch smirks and it looks deformed. “That's it. Just let it consume you. It's not as bad as you think.” She drops her hand and watches the unmoving body proudly. “After all, being nice and honest never got you any closer to your desire.” She pauses and her glowing eyes narrow. “The red paladin.”





	1. Become the Beast

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!  
> So I've always wanted to write a dark!Lance fic and I'm finally confident enough to start posting it!  
> Big thanks to Storm (magicalmusing on tumblr) for beta-reading!  
> I really hope I'll be able to update often but it takes me a while to write so yeah.  
> I'm writing this on Google Docs, so if anyone like wants to get involved or has ideas, message me on tumblr (queen-0f-awes0me) and I can send you the link.  
> Oh and I'll once again use song titles as chapter titles.  
> Become the Beast by Karliene
> 
> And if you're wondering about the setting for this, it's not set in any special season. I just prefer the original paladin setup since I think it's easier to work with. That still means that Keith is part galra, yadayada you feel me.
> 
> And now  
> Enjoy!

A bright light blinds him.

He groans.

His arms and legs feel numb.

A sharp pain shoots into his head, spreading, slowly wrapping around his brain.

And Lance screams.

“I can make it stop.” A rusty voice purrs. He doesn't know where it comes from. It feels like its echoing through his mind. “And I can do more than that.” It continues while the pain intensifies. “Like everyone, you too have desires buried deep inside your mind, held back by a voice of reason and a set of morals set in stone. I can help you to get what you want.”

Lance groans and tries to move his arms but he doesn't even know if they're still a part of his body. He cries out and manages to slowly open his eyes. Above him, he spots two glowing eyes and the wicked grin of Zarkon's witch.

“Your family. You would do anything to make sure they're safe. You'd kill for them.”

Lance grimaces, opening his mouth in a desperate try to speak. His throat feels too dry for his voice to work. “You leave them alone.” He manages to croak.

The witch hums and Lance's eyes widen when he sees one of her claws move dangerously close to his face. “I will. I promise.” She says and it almost sounds soft. “But I need you to do something for me as well. Your paladins. I want you to bring chaos into their middle.”

One of her fingers presses to his forehead, the sharp fingernail almost piercing the skin. He whimpers and shuts his eyes again. “No...”

“I don't need your consent.” She purrs, leaning in closer. “There is something else you want and I am willing to help you get it.”

He wants to struggle, to scream and throw punches while vivid pictures fill his head. First, his family. All his brothers and sisters, his parents and grandparents. All of them are smiling like there isn't a single bad thing in the world. Like he never left them. Then their faces fade away, making way for someone else. Dark hair, pale skin, a rare smile.

“Stop it!” He yells.

The witch only laughs at his desperation. “Destroy them. All of them. That is what I ask of you.” She whispers into his ear. “In return, earth will be safe and you will get what you desired all this time.”

Lance feels her words sink deep into his mind and the finger touching his skin seems to burn him. He tries to hold onto his mind, to push her away, but soon all he can hear is her voice. It changes something inside him. It feels like a part of him is fading, getting pushed away by something else. Then, a door in the very back of his conscious opens, one that should never be opened and would've stayed locked until the day his existence would end. Darkness clouds his mind, his very being.

The witch smirks and it looks deformed. “That's it. Just let it consume you. It's not as bad as you think.” She drops her hand and watches the unmoving body proudly. “After all, being nice and honest never got you any closer to your desire.” She pauses and her glowing eyes narrow. “The red paladin.”

Lance's eyes open again. The light in them is gone, clouded by something dark. Haggar steps back, waiting for his next move. He sits up, his face emotionless and his gaze trained on nothing in particular.

“I think it's time for you to go home.” She purrs. “We will meet again soon, blue paladin.”

~ ~ ~

Keith steps onto the bridge and the sliding doors close behind him. He looks up. Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, Coran and Allura are already waiting for him. They already shed their armor, just like Keith.

They just got back from a mission. They had gotten a clue from one of the rebel groups that Pidge's father might be on a certain Galra ship. One ship ended up being three and sadly, they found no one, barely managing to destroy two of the ships before they had to retreat.

They had searched the ships in groups of two, except for Lance, who checked the last and smallest. It didn't look like a warship, so they had thought it would be safe.

“Where's Lance?” Keith asks as he steps towards the others.

The others look at each other in confusion briefly before Shiro faces Keith with raised eyebrows. “We thought he would come back with you. I haven’t heard of him since he got on that ship.”

Keith crosses his arms and shakes his head. “He didn't. I was the only one.”

Shiro turns to lock eyes with Allura, who raises a hand to her mouth in worry. Hunk glances over to Pidge, who is barely listening while sitting in her chair, gnawing away on her nails. Coran steps forward and raises his chin. “I'm sure he will be here any minute. No need to worry so soon.”

Keith drops his arms, his hands balling into fists. “I'll go look for him.” He says quickly, ready to turn and run off, back to Red's hangar. A noise from the castle's system makes him hesitate though. Everyone looks up and Allura raises a hand to navigate through the notifications and smiles when the familiar symbol of the blue lion is shown on the map, moving closer to the castle.

“There he is.” She announces and sighs in relief.

Coran sends them a look, a small smile tugging on at the edge of his lips. “Just like I said.”

Keith forces himself to relax as he watches the blue symbol arrive at the castle.

“So all of us are back in one piece.” Shiro says. “Sadly, the mission wasn't successful.” He glances over to Pidge, who is staring ahead, her eyes filled with sadness. “We will continue to follow every lead we might be getting in the future. Allura and I will make sure to contact the rebels soon to let them know and ask if they have any new information on the matter. You guys go ahead and try to relax a bit. We don't know when we will have to take action again.”

Allura steps to his side and nods. “That's true. You did your very best out there. You deserve a bit free time.” She smiles softly.

Hunk stretches, an exhausted smile on his face. “That's great news for once.” He says. “Hey Pidge, if I remember correctly, you still need to help me understand the new camouflage skill you added to Green's equipment.”

She looks up at him and nods slowly before getting up. “I guess. We better get going. That one might take a while to explain.”

Hunk beams when she steps past him. “You sure about that? I'm pretty smart myself and I think I might know a thing or two about it.”

“Don't get ahead of yourself.” She mumbles and keeps walking, leaving the room with Hunk following close behind.

Keith watches them leave and thinks about what to do next. He bites his lip in thought when Shiro approaches him. “And Keith, I don't want to find you in the training room again.”

Keith blinks up at him in confusion. “What? Why?”

“Just get some rest for once. Sit down in the lounge, try to get a bit closer to the others. Don't hole yourself up so much, okay?” Shiro asks and rests a hand on the other's shoulder.

“Fine” Keith sighs and looks away. “But only for today.”

“Sounds good.” Shiro gives him a pat before shoving him towards the door.

The red paladin treats him with a small smile and leaves the room to where he hopes to find Hunk and Pidge. They might be in the lounge to start a heated discussion on technical stuff Keith had no idea about.

Or maybe Pidge wants to demonstrate it firsthand. In that case, he would probably find them in Green's hangar. He thinks about going there but eventually decides to check the lounge first.

Actually, he simply wants to go to his room and have some alone time but he wouldn't hear the end of it if Shiro were to find out.

The door to the lounge slides open and Keith steps in, his head lowered in thought. He stops when he sees who is already there, sitting on one of the couches with his arms spread on the headrest behind him.

“There you are.” Keith greets and steps closer. “We almost thought you were lost.”

Lance looks up and Keith freezes. Something about the way the blue paladin looks up at him seems different. Usually, Lance is always smiling, his eyes holding an almost wicked glint in them. Nothing of that is left though. His gaze looks dark and calculating as he eyes Keith from head to toe.

“Is everything alright?” The red paladin asks slowly, feeling slightly uneasy under the other's gaze.

Suddenly, Lance jumps to his feet, his long legs quickly taking him over to where Keith is standing. He stops right in front of the smaller man, looking down at him.

“Lance?” Keith asks and takes a step back, but Lance's hand shoots out to grab his wrist.

“You're always running away from me.” The blue paladin says, his voice deeper than usual and his eyes trained on Keith's face. “I would like to know why.”

“What?” Keith hisses and glares down at the hand around his wrist, trying to yank it free. Instead, the grip only tightens, making him flinch in pain.

“Is it because you're scared?” Lance asks, leaning in close. “Scared of me?”

“I'm not scared of you, asshole!” Keith barks and glares up at the other. “If this is one of your jokes, it's not funny.”

Lance hums and brings some more distance between them, still not releasing his grip. “Feisty as always. Usually, I like our little arguments. You look adorable when you pretend to be angry.”

Keith blinks up at him. It take shim a second or two to realize the words. He opens his mouth to argue but nothing comes to his mind. “What?” He asks again instead.

“You're always so oblivious.” Lance purrs and reaches out his free hand. Keith's eyes widen but he doesn't move when fingers start stroking down his cheek, a thumb resting on his bottom lip.

He's frozen in place, unable to move as he waits for Lance's next move. Everything about this is wrong and unnatural. Keith wants to push him away and run off but there's something in the way Lance is watching him that makes him feel paralyzed.

“Do you even know how other people look at you?” Lance asks and tilts his head to the side, a grin appearing on his face as he starts stroking his thumb over Keith's bottom lip. “I'd kill every single one of them to make sure they don't end up breathing the same air as you.”

Keith jerks back, finally managing to free his wrist of the other's grip. He stumbles back and stares at Lance, ready to flee the scene. “W-what are you talking about?”

Lance simply watches him for a few seconds before he puts on one of his usual sweet smiles. “It's good that you're pretty because you're not the sharpest tool in the shed.” He laughs and Keith frowns.

While the red paladin is still trying to understand what's going on, Lance rushes forward. Without warning, he grabs Keith's face and presses their lips together harshly.

That's the moment Keith's brain stops working. First that weird change in attitude and Lance talking nonsense and now...

His eyes widen in shock and he tries to push his hands against the other's chest to bring some distance between them but Lance slides one of his hands into Keith's hair and tugs his head back, ending the kiss.

Keith winces in pain and glares up at Lance, who simply smirks at him. “Something's seriously wrong with you.” He hisses, desperately trying to push Lance away.

“I promise you, I never felt better.” The blue paladin chuckles. “I just realized that it's pointless to still act human when you're a million light-years away from earth. There are countless alien races out there who simply take what they want and I think that's wonderful.”

Keith groans and claws at the other's chest, hoping to trigger some kind of reaction. “Good for you. Go bother Allura or some other space chick. Leave me out of this.”

Lance raises his eyebrows and blinks at Keith before letting out a laugh. “Keith, ever since I saw you back at the Garrison, all I wanted was for you to be _mine_. Girls are nice and all but they're boring, honestly.”

A shiver runs down Keith's spine at the way Lance hisses the word 'mine' and watches him like he's nothing more than prey.

“You're not really interested in anyone, right? You're certainly not into girls, as far as I know.” Lance sighs dramatically, his hand slowly sliding out of Keith's hair. “There was a guy though. He was in one of my classes and one time, he talked about you. Wanna know what he said?” The blue paladin grabs both of Keith's wrists and pulls them away from where his hands are still clawing at Lance's shirt. “He told us that he fucked you. That you were so very willing to spread your legs for him.” Lance slowly leans in again. “Since then I couldn't stop thinking about it. I hated that guy. One time I even punched him after he ran into me in the hallway. I wanted to be the one to do that to you.”

Keith lowers his gaze, heat rushing to his face in embarrassment. When Lance doesn't move, he turns his head away to avoid his gaze. “Would you please stop? This isn't you. Something happened.” He whispers. “Something at that Galra ship, right?”

Lance keeps staring at him for a while before letting out a laugh. “I made a deal.”

Keith frowns and looks up at him again, trying to ignore how close they are. “A deal? What do you mean?”

“They help me and I help them.”

The red paladin's eyes widen and he steps back, his wrists easily sliding out of the other's grip this time. “Why are you telling me this? That makes no sense at all. You know I'll tell Shiro.”

Lance crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. “Shiro, of course. If I didn't know that Shiro was straight as fuck, I would think you let him fuck you as well. You're like his biggest fan.” He drops his arms again and shakes his head to himself. “I guess Shiro the hero has to go.”

Keith narrows his eyes and his bayard appears in his hand. The sword forms and he quickly raises it, the tip of the blade almost touching Lance's neck. “If you hurt him or the others, I won't hesitate to kill you.”

Lance raises an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed. He doesn't even look down at the weapon, his eyes trained on Keith. “Honey, I can hurt them whenever I want, but you? You don't have it in you.” He chuckles darkly and tips his chin upwards, baring his throat. “Come on. Do it then. I'm a threat, remember?”

Keith doesn't move. He glances from the other's face down at the sword and back up again, trying to come up with a plan.

Lance waits for a few seconds before pushing the sword away slowly. “I don't give a fuck about the others. Wanna know what I get out of this deal? The safety of my family and you.”

Keith drops his sword and it transforms back before disappearing. “Me?”

“Exactly” Lance steps closer again. “I will strip away all that you know, all that you love.” He smiles almost softly and Keith can't help but watch his face longingly, despite his words. He doesn't notice the bayard appearing in the blue paladin's hand. “Until you have no shelter but me.”

When Lance raises his hand, it takes Keith too long to notice and the bayard meets the back of his head, the noise echoing through the room. A gasp escapes him as pain spreads through his head and he tries to hold onto his senses but it only takes seconds for him to lose consciousness.

The bayard disappears again and Lance quickly wraps his arms around Keith before he can drop to the ground. He smiles to himself and buries his nose in the other's hair, tightening his grip. “One day you'll understand that I'm doing this for you.” He whispers and shifts Keith's body, so he can slide an arm underneath his legs and lift him up.

Lance freezes when he hears the door across the room open and Pidge's voice echoes off the walls. “I mean, how can you not know how it works.” She sighs and looks up, noticing the blue paladin. “Lance, hey.” She greets him.

Next to her, Hunk takes in a sharp breath. “Dude, is Keith okay? What happened?” Both of them step closer quickly to take a look at their unconscious friend.

Lance puts on a smile. “Uh, I just got here and found him passed out on the couch. All that training and now the battle...I’d guess he’s exhausted.” He chuckles, his voice not giving away anything. “I'll just get him to his room.”

“Sounds about right.” Hunk laughs and drops down onto the couch. “That fight was pretty exhausting. I might go to bed soon as well.”

Pidge crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. “You guys are so boring. How are you tired already?”

“I'm a big guy. I need a lot of energy to get by.” Hunk argues but Pidge only shakes her head.

“Bullshit! You're just lazy.”

“I am not!”

Lance looks from one to the other and coughs awkwardly. “Guys, I'll be on my way.”

Pidge makes a shooing motion with her hand and keeps arguing with Hunk so Lance simply turns around and heads out the door towards their rooms. Thankfully, he gets there without anyone else crossing his way and in the end, he glances at the door to Keith's room but only chuckles to himself before stepping into his own room.

Once in there, he steps over to his bed, carefully lowering Keith onto it. He slides his arms out from under him but doesn't move away just yet. He takes in the red paladin's features. His dark hair, his light skin which Lance knows is so soft, his slightly parted lips, those dark lashes meant to frame those unique eyes.

Before he can stop himself, Lance leans in, his lips barely ghosting over Keith's. Then he gets up again, narrowing his eyes as he looks over to the door. “As much as I'd like to spend more time with you like this, I still have some stuff to take care of.” He says and stomps across the room and back into the hallway. After checking if anyone is around, he locks the door behind himself and walks away like nothing happened.

Lance starts strolling along the hallways randomly. He smirks to himself and starts humming a random tune when he hears footsteps.

His face changes back to a small smile as he rounds the next corner only to come face to face with Shiro. The black paladin stops and looks down at Lance.

“Hey, good to see you're back in one piece.” He greets, briefly patting the blue paladin's shoulder, using his human arm. “Have you seen Keith anywhere?”

Lance blinks up at him and feigns innocence. “Uh, I think he was heading for the training deck.” He says and shrugs.

Shiro narrows his eyes and crosses his arms. “Oh, did he now? I guess I'll have to talk to him again.” He drops his head and sighs. “So where are you heading?”

“Just going for a walk. I'm pretty tired but can't seem to relax so due to the lack of streets and parks and such, I thought I'd just walk around until I'm ready to go to bed.” He rambles, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

“Well, don't wander around too much. Wouldn't want you to get lost.” Shiro laughs and pats his shoulder again before stepping past him. “I'll check on Keith before heading to bed. Good night.”

“Night!” Lance cheers and salutes playfully, waiting for Shiro to round the corner. Once the black paladin's gone, he drops his arm and his smile disappears, making way for boredom.

So Shiro would check the training deck and notice Keith isn't there. Lance could surely use that to his advantage. He waits for a few minutes before turning and following after the black paladin carefully.

He turns the last corner to see Shiro walk through the doors leading to the training deck. Lance smirks and rushes after him, managing to slip inside just in time for the doors to slide shut behind him.

Shiro looks around the room and frowns. When he turns around and notices Lance, he gasps. “Oh, hey. Don't creep up on me like that.” He chuckles. “Still not able to sleep?”

Lance shrugs and pushes his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “Not really. I thought we could have a training session.”

Shiro blinks at him before laughing. “We just fought a hard battle and you still want to train? Don't get me wrong, but you usually prefer to relax.”

The blue paladin remains silent and holds the others gaze, his eyes narrowing.

“Wait” Shiro frowns and takes a step towards him. “You knew Keith wasn't here.” He says slowly, observing the other for any kind of reaction. “Lance, what is going on? Where is Keith?”

Lance smiles but it lacks the usual friendliness. “He's sound asleep in my room.” He explains proudly. “Or more like unconscious.”

Shiro's eyes widen slightly at the revelation. “Unconscious? What happened?” He asks worriedly.

“I knocked him out.” Lance says with a shrug. “I couldn't have him intervene.” And with that he frees his hands and his bayard appears.

Shiro looks down at the weapon briefly. “Lance, what happened on that Galra ship?”

“Oh, shut the fuck up already!” The blue paladin groans. “You're always sticking your nose into everyone's business. You act like you're a freaking hero when you're really just an old fuck desperate to shine again.” He hisses, pointing his rifle at Shiro. “But do you wanna know what I hate most about you?”

The black paladin raises his chin, his gaze hardening as his robot arm lights up.

“Keith” Lance spits. “The way you talk to him and fucking touch him like you have the right to do. I hate it. I want to break your fucking neck with my bare hands.”

“Lance, this isn't you. Whatever they did, you need to snap out of it. I don't want to fight you. We can go get Coran and figure out a way to break their spell.” Shiro offers calmly.

The other lowers his weapon slightly, brows furrowing at the words. “You really think so?”

“Of course. We can fix this. We can help you.”

The tension in the room is still obvious as the two just stare at each other wordlessly. It feels like forever until Lance smiles and Shiro is about to return it when the blue paladin's expression suddenly turns mischievous. “Nothing's wrong with me and I'm not under the witch's spell. You wanna help me? Let me witness the moment you realize you can't fix this.”

“Lance...”

“Shut up and fight me already!” Lance yells, raising his rifle again.

Shiro gasps and barely manages to jump out of the way as the other aims and shoots right at his face. He rolls across the floor and stumbles to his feet again just in time for Lance to shoot again. Shiro ducks out of the way and rushes towards the blue paladin, raising his glowing hand.

Suddenly, Lance smirks almost manically and throws his arm aside. His bayard transforms back as it hits the ground, sliding towards the wall. Everything happens so fast, Shiro is not able to react in time and ends up with his glowing hand slicing into Lance's shoulder.

Both freeze. Shiro's eyes widen when he realizes what just happened. Lance's head is hanging low and at first the black paladin thinks he might pass out but then his body starts to shake and when he looks up at Shiro, his face is an evil grimace.

Shiro jerks back, holding his arm away from his body. “Lance, I'm sorry. I thought you...”

Lance tilts his head to glance down at the blood dropping from his shoulder. “That'll do.” He mumbles and slowly back away towards the door. While doing so he runs his fingers across the wound before holding it out in front of him so a few drops hit the floor.

Shiro watches as the blue paladin sends him a last look and then rushes out into the hallway.


	2. No Light, No Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter already?  
> Well, I have like six chapters written and I can't wait to show them to the world. And I think first chapters suck because most of the time, they barely tell you anything about the story so here you go. 
> 
> Also here's the playlist on Spotify:  
> https://open.spotify.com/user/1152771154/playlist/4qa6lF2NSQArebT9RGd6cF?si=y9-UxDZSSumyDtzb00N5iQ  
> And here you can listen to it on tumblr (I hope it works):  
> http://queen-0f-awes0me.tumblr.com/post/177066881424
> 
> Chapter title is  
> No Light, No Light by Florence + The Machine
> 
> Enjoy!  
> And btw more feedback means more motivation for me to write heh

Pidge and Hunk are hanging out in the kitchen, talking about a new kind of spice they found on one of the planets they had recently visited, when Lance suddenly bursts in, holding his shoulder. He gasps and looks up at his friends.

Hunk is by his side immediately, holding his friend upright when it looks like he's going to pass out. “Shit, Lance! Are you bleeding?”

Pidge jumps off the counter and rushes over as well. “What happened?”

Lance grimaces and shuts his eyes tightly. “Shiro...” He croaks. “I don't know. He just attacked me.”

Pidge freezes and looks up at Hunk who only frowns at his friend. “Shiro?”

“Are you sure? Shiro would never...” Hunk starts but hesitates when Lance drops his hand and he sees the wound. “Shit, that doesn't look good.” Pidge jumps back when Hunk helps Lance over to one of the chairs. “Sit down. I'll try to find Coran.” And with that he runs out of the room.

The green paladin slowly steps over to Lance, trying to get a closer look at the wound. “Do you think I can get a better look?” She asks hesitantly and when Lance just nods, she carefully pulls back the collar of his shirt. The wound isn't too deep and the bleeding almost completely stopped already. What makes her frown is that the flesh is burnt where the weapon sliced it. “Shiro really did this?” She gasps.

Lance groans in pain and nods again. “I-I think something's wrong with him. The Galra and his arm...”

“You think they might be controlling him through his arm or something?” She asks quickly and sits across from him.

“No” He shakes his head and leans back carefully. “I think he's working for them, or with them.”

Pidge blinks at him in shock and subconsciously brings a hand up to chew on her nails. “Shiro would never do that. I mean...I think...”

“What do we know about him, Pidge? He just showed up after being with the Galra for a year. He could've played us to get to the lions.”

“Lance, are you even listening to yourself? Shiro is our leader. If he really worked for the Galra, wouldn't he have delivered the lions to them already? And I don't think the black lion would've accepted him like that.”

“Zarkon was the black paladin. We don't know anything about the lions' morals or perceptions of good and evil.”

The green paladin lowers her gaze at that. “You're probably right.” She sighs. “I still refuse to believe this.”

Lance observes her face, how she is nervously gnawing at her fingernails. “We should go ask Keith.”

She drops her hand and blinks up at him. “Keith?”

“When I was carrying him to his room, I noticed a bump on the back of his head so I got him to my room and locked it from the outside. What if Shiro did that? I just...I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“Shiro hurt Keith?”

Lance shrugs and lets his head fall back, closing his eyes.

“This is bad.” She whispers and jumps nervously when the door slides open.

It isn't Hunk and Coran but Keith who is leaning against the door frame. He lifts his head to look at the two and grimaces as he holds his head. “Okay, can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?”

“Keith!” Pidge shrieks. “Are you okay? What happened? Lance told me you hurt your head!”

The red paladin frowns at her before looking at Lance. “What...happened?” He searches his mind, images of Lance wearing an evil grin popping up. No, that doesn’t seem right. “I'm not sure.”

“We think Shiro might’ve knocked you out.” Lance tells him before grimacing and holding his shoulder again.

Keith slowly steps closer to them, still holding his head. “Shiro? What?” He observes Lance and his eyes widen. “You're hurt?”

“Shiro attacked him.” Pidge says slowly.

“Okay, stop.” Keith groans, holding his hands out. “What is this about Shiro? What's going on?”

“You really don't remember anything?” Lance asks, his voice low.

Keith faces him and searches his mind again. Except for single nightmarish images, all he knows is that his head hurts like hell. “No...”

The blue paladin's eyes are still trained on his and Keith feels a shiver run down his spine.

When the door slides open again, all three of them look up as Hunk and Coran rush in.

“What is all of this about?” The Altean asks and sends everyone a questioning look before eventually stepping over to Lance. “Can you get up?”

Lance lets out a painful chuckle and pushes himself to his feet. “I'll be fine. It just hurts like hell.”

Coran carefully pulls his collar aside just like Pidge did minutes ago and hums in thought while inspecting the wound. “Hunk mentioned you said Shiro did this.”

“He did. I was walking around the castle to get my head free, you know. Then Shiro showed up and attacked me out of nowhere. He probably also knocked Keith out.”

Coran narrows his eyebrows and takes another look. “This indeed looks like a wound inflicted by a weapon such as Shiro's arm.”

“That could be anything.” Keith suddenly snaps. “Shiro would never hurt any of us.”

“In fact, only the Galra use weapons that heat up like that. They slice and burn the skin in one go.” Coran explains and Keith glares at him.

“Uhm” Pidge coughs awkwardly. “Lance and I talked about it. What if the Galra are controlling him?”

“Or he's working with them.” Lance adds breathlessly.

Coran steps back and pulls his mustache in though. Hunk fiddles with his hands nervously. Pidge bites her lip, blinking up at her friends. Lance has his head lowered. Keith clenches his fists and shakes his head. “That's bullshit.”

“Well, has anyone seen Shiro?” Hunk asks hesitantly and they exchange looks.

“I'll go find him.” Keith hisses but before he can move, someone grabs his arm to stop him. He freezes and looks down to see it's Lance who jerked forward in his chair.

“No” He hisses quietly. “He might try to hurt you again.”

The red paladin swallows nervously and pulls his arm free. “Whatever”

Suddenly, Allura's voice fills the room and everyone looks up.

_“Paladins, please come to the bridge immediately. There is an important matter at hand we need to discuss.”_

Keith crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. “See? It's probably just a misunderstanding.” He groans and whirls around to leave.

Hunk rushes over to Lance to help him to his feet. “Think you'll be alright?”

Coran interrupts them quickly. “Once this is over we will make sure to send you to the healing pods. A few hours and you'll be as good as new.” He explains proudly and strolls away.

Pidge waits for his friends to make it out into the hallway before following. “I really hope this is a big misunderstanding.”

Lance glances at her and smiles sadly. “Me too.” She doesn't notice the mischief in his eyes.

~ ~ ~

Allura is standing in the middle of the room in her usual spot by the time all of them arrive. Shiro is standing behind her, his arms crossed as he eyes the other paladins.

“Paladins, I apologize for calling you here but I heard disturbing stories about one of you.” The princess starts and glances back at Shiro.

“We already know.” Pidge says, narrowing her eyes.

“Yes!” Hunk chimes in. “And we would like to hear how Shiro wants to explain this.”

The black paladin sighs and steps to Allura's side. “I know this looks bad, but it's not what you think.” He says. “It wasn't my intention to hurt Lance.”

“Well, you did!” Pidge whines.

“He attacked me first.” Shiro continues. “Something happened at that Galra ship. He's not himself.”

Hunk, Pidge and Coran frown while Shiro and Allura keep their eyes trained on Lance, who is looking up at them emotionlessly. Keith, who is keeping his distance, stares at the blue paladin in shock.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Pidge hisses. “I think we would've noticed if they used their weird voodoo magic on him.”

“Okay, I am really confused right now.” Hunk groans.

“Lance said you knocked Keith out and then attacked him.” The green paladin continues.

Allura raises her eyebrows and faces the red paladin. “Keith, is that true?”

“Uh” He starts. “I was knocked out, yes.” He says slowly, lowering his gaze. “I woke up in Lance's room. I don't remember what happened though.”

“Hah!” Pidge cheers. “That's what Lance told us. He brought Keith to his room and locked the door.”

“Lance told me he knocked Keith out!” Shiro groans and clenches his fists angrily.

Allura sighs and steps between them. “This is not getting us anywhere.” She shakes her head and looks at Keith again. “You really don't remember anything?”

“Only stuff from a nightmare.” He mumbles, still refusing to look anyone in the face.

“Lance got hurt by Shiro's freaking Galra arm! I think it's pretty obvious!” Pidge hisses.

“He could be fooling us though.” Coran throws in and Pidge whirls around to send him a death glare.

“So what? He provoked Shiro into hurting him so it would look like Shiro was the bad one?” Hunk asks, scratching his head in confusion.

“Exactly!” The black paladin groans.

“Like hell! You're the one with an arm made of their technology. It makes sense that it influences you.” Pidge says, pointing at the other's robot arm.

“And how exactly would that work?”

“Want me to explain how your arm works?”

“Please do.”

“Guys!” Hunk sighs. “We shouldn't fight.”

“I think so too.” Allura says.

“But if there's a traitor in our middle, we should know about it.” Coran states.

“That's true, I guess.” Hunk whines. “We could just lock both of them away. Do we have like prison cells on this ship?”

“We do, actually.”

“We're going to just lock them away?” Pidge barks. “That's barbaric!”

“Do you have a better idea?” Shiro mumbles. “Let's do it.”

Pidge crosses her arms and looks away in defeat. “We should get Lance into a healing pod first, at least.”

Allura nods and looks to Coran. “Of course, princess. I'll get one ready.”

“Then it's settled.” Shiro announces. “Allura, mind showing me to the cells?”

She nods again hesitantly, glancing at the other paladins briefly before leading Shiro out of the room. The black paladin locks eyes with Lance as he walks past him and then he's gone.

“This is so messed up.” Hunk groans. “Lance, if you were evil, you would tell us, right?”

Lance, who is still holding onto his friend to stay upright, chuckles weakly. “Uh, I don't think so? I mean, it depends. I probably wouldn't if my plan was to hurt you.”

“You would hurt us?”

“Hunk, I'm not evil.”

“Oh, good.”

Pidge ignores them and stomps over to Keith who is absently staring ahead. “Hey, mullet! Mind explaining why you don't remember what happened?”

Keith turns to face her and blinks in confusion. “What?”

“That bump looked pretty bad.” Lance says softly.

“I don't freaking care. That makes no sense at all.” Pidge says and narrows her eyes. “What if he's working with Shiro?”

“Are you implying that I would work for the Galra?” Keith barks angrily.

“What if I am? You’re one of them after all.”

The red paladin flinches at that and clenches his fists. “I would never do that!”

“It's not like we know much about you.”

“It's not like I know anything about Lance! He could've done it!”

“Look at him! He's hurt!”

Hunk sighs sadly and leads Lance over to his seat before stomping over to the other two. “Guys, no more fighting. We are supposed to be a team.”

Pidge throws her arms in the air in frustration. “Yeah, we're a great team!” She hisses sarcastically.

“You're pretty into this. What if you're working for the Galra?” Keith says with a shrug. “Maybe you made a deal to get your family back.”

She freezes and if looks could kill, the red paladin would be no more. “Are you even listening to yourself?”

“Then don't ever imply I might be on their side!”

Hunk is about to step between them again when Coran enters the room, apparently oblivious to their fight. “The healing pod is ready. Who wants first?” He jokes and rubs his hands together.

Pidge glances at him before glaring up at Keith once more. “This is not over.” She tells him before pulling Hunk over to Lance to help him up.

Keith crosses his arms and huffs as he watches them lead the blue paladin out of the room. They're barely out the door when Lance locks eyes with him and Keith gasps at the mischievous glint in them.

Then the door closes and he's gone.


	3. The Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo again!
> 
> Title song:  
> The Wolf by SIAMES (I just love this song ok! I even wrote a oneshot about it!)
> 
> There are some rape-y elements in this chapter so a trigger warning is in order!

Everyone is already asleep when Keith slips out of his room. He checks the hallway anyway before carefully making his way to the medical bay.

He doesn't know what to believe. There are images in his head. Lance grinning down at him just before he loses consciousness. So that version makes sense.

On the other hand, Shiro doesn't know much about the technology in his Galra arm. He hates to admit it but they could use it to influence him.

Keith makes it to his destination without getting noticed, slipping into the room and shutting the door behind himself again. He takes a deep breath and steps further inside, towards the healing pod.

Inside, Lance's body is unmoving, his face rid of emotion. He's been in there for a few hours already and Keith doesn't see any trace of the wound left so he carefully reaches out towards the button to open it.

He hesitates though, looking up at the blue paladin again. Was Lance always that well built? The tight suit he's wearing really doesn't leave anything to the imagination. Keith glances over his shoulder awkwardly before stepping closer to the pod again. He raises one hand to hold it against the glass, taking in the other's broad shoulders and toned chest. His gaze lowers to his stomach where he guesses at least a slight six pack is hiding and when his eyes move further down, he blushes.

“I'm not here to check his junk out.” Keith whispers to himself and quickly pushes the button to open the pod.

The door slides open and Keith expects the other to limply fall forward but Lance simply groans and slowly blinks his eyes open. It takes him a while to come back to reality but once his eyes land on Keith, he smirks.

“Didn't expect you to be the first thing I see.” He chuckles and cracks his neck before slowly stepping out of the pod. “What a nice surprise.”

Keith brings some distance between them and reaches behind his back, his hand on the handle of his knife. “We need to talk.”

Lance stretches and the red paladin quickly looks away. “Honestly, I think that pretty mouth of yours could be put to much better use.” Lance laughs. “But fine, let's talk first.”

“F-first? After this I'll wake Allura to lock you away.” Keith stutters nervously.

“Oh? Are you now?” Lance slowly steps closer to Keith. “You could've waited until everyone was up. Why come here on your own? I guess no one knows, huh?”

“Well, no...”

“Thought so.” Once he's close enough he reaches out to put a hand on Keith's cheek, making him flinch but not pull away. “What is it you wanna talk about?”

“I-I...” Keith tries to lean away from the touch but Lance narrows his eyes and follows his movement. “I want to know the truth. Why did I wake up in your room?”

“What do you think happened?”

“I have no idea. That's why I'm here.”

Lance looks up in thought. “Would you believe me if I told you that we fucked?”

“What?! No!”

“Didn't think so.”

“Stop messing around already! I might not remember but there's images flashing up in my mind every now and then and I'm pretty sure it was you who knocked me out.”

“What if it was me?”

Keith opens his mouth to reply but shuts it again when he doesn't know what to say. Lance smiles almost softly at him. There's still something menacing in the way his eyes roam Keith's body though.

“You're not stupid. The moment you woke up, you knew who was to blame but you still kept your mouth shut. I wanna know why.”

“I wasn't sure. It just didn’t make sense in my head.”

“Bullshit!” Lance suddenly barks, making Keith gasp in shock. “I honestly thought that if you had to choose between Shiro and me, you would always choose Shiro so this is a nice surprise.”

“I'm not on your side.” Keith says quickly and steps back. Lance raises an eyebrow but lets him go. “I'm just...I'm confused.”

Lance nods slowly and rubs his chin as if contemplating something. “I could try to help your mind catch on.”

Before Keith can reply, Lance is right in front of him and pulling him closer by the collar of his shirt to crash their lips together. Keith doesn't move, doesn't react at all. He knows he should be shocked and pull back. It also feels like they did this before.

Lance wraps his arms around Keith's waist and pulls him closer. That seems to trigger a reaction as Keith suddenly jerks his head away, blinking up at Lance but not stepping out of his grasp. “You knocked me out.” He gasps. “Then you tricked Shiro into attacking you so it looked like he was the evil one.”

Lance grins. “Yep”

“Why? That makes no sense.”

“Why does it have to make sense?” The blue paladin whispers, tightening his grasp on the other slightly. “Did you ever do something that didn't make sense?”

“Way too often. I'm not like that anymore.”

“Maybe you should try it again. You might be surprised.”

Keith glances down at the other's lips briefly before shaking his head. “Whatever you are planning, I'm not going to help you.”

“You don't have to.” Lance laughs, his eyes narrowing playfully. “You just have to be the price at the end.” And with that he leans in again, slowly this time.

Keith swallows nervously. This is wrong. He needs to tell the others. Lance has to be locked away. They should try to find a way to get him back to normal.

He knows all of those things. Everything screams at him to push Lance away and run. Run. Run.

That's why he's just as surprised at his next action.

He leans in as well.

Lance smirks against his lips and Keith flinches at the harsh grip on his hips. He tries to tell himself that what they are doing is wrong and that this isn't Lance. Somehow he can't bring himself to pull back though.

The blue paladin lets his hands wander. One slides down to grab Keith's behind and the other moves up to tangle in his hair, pulling at it slightly, drawing a soft moan from the red paladin.

At some point Keith throws his arms around Lance's shoulders and tilts his head to the side to deepen the kiss. He groans when he feels teeth bite down on his bottom lip and instantly opens his mouth.

Lance chuckles and pulls back suddenly, making Keith blink up at him in confusion. “Seems like the stories I heard are true. You are a little slut.” He purrs, narrowing his eyes.

Keith frowns and eventually realizes what is going on. He drops his arms and stumbles away from Lance, clenching his fists as he glares at the other. “Don't!” He hisses. “This...this was a mistake. You're not yourself right now.”

Lance rolls his eyes at that and crosses his arms, waiting for Keith's next move.

“I need to tell Allura.” Keith says and takes another step back, his eyes wide.

That triggers a reaction in his former rival though. Lance's relaxed expression changes to one of annoyance and he stomps forward. “Like hell you are!” He hisses and without warning, he wraps an arm around Keith's waist to throw him over his shoulder easily.

It takes Keith a second to understand what just happened before he starts throwing punches at Lance's back, kicking his legs desperately. “What do you think you're doing? Put me down! Now!”

“Would you please be quiet? I'd prefer not to wake everyone.” Lance says casually.

Keith glares at the floor moving underneath him. “Fuck you!” He yells and reaches up to bury a hand in Lance's hair, yanking on it harshly. The blue paladin hisses in shock and pain and grabs one of Keith's legs to throw him to the floor.

“You're really testing my patience here.” Lance hisses quietly, narrowing his eyes at Keith, who tries to sit up after receiving another rather harsh blow to the back of his head after hitting the ground.

The red paladin swallows nervously and reaches out to lean against the wall to pull himself to his feet again. “And you're really trying to give me a concussion.” He groans, one hand resting on the back of his head.

“If that's what it takes.” Lance purrs. “Now, let's not make a scene in the middle of the hallway. Why don't we go to my room. We can talk all you want there.”

Keith looks up at him, searching the other's face and noticing the glint of malice behind their questioning gaze. He forces a smile and lets his bayard appear in his hand, which quickly transforms into his sword. “No, thanks.” He says, whirls around and starts running into the direction of their rooms.

Maybe he can get to Hunk or Pidge's room so they can help him. Allura's room isn't near the others and it would take too long to reach it and Keith is pretty sure he really does have a concussion since his vision starts to swim and he feels ready to empty his stomach.

He rounds a corner and dares to look over his shoulder. Of course Lance is right behind him, his own weapon in hand. They keep running along corridors and Lance keeps coming closer. Keith almost stumbles a few times when black dots appear in his vision but he forces himself to keep going.

Eventually he turns right one last time to see the doors to their rooms come into view. Pidge's is closest. She's probably still awake. He uses the last bit of energy he has to dash towards the door. He slides to a stop in front of it, ready to push the button to open it or at least ring the bell but something hot rushes past him and he jumps back in shock, looking back to see Lance stomp closer with his weapon raised and aimed at him.

“Keith, I really don't want to hurt you more than necessary. Stop this bullshit.”

Keith bares his teeth at the other and raises his sword. “You need help, Lance.” He says, slowly moving his sword towards the button on the wall.

At first it seems like Lance doesn't notice but then his eyes widen slightly and he aims briefly before shooting. Keith is too slow to react in time and the laser hits the handle of his sword close enough to his finger that it burns. He whimpers in pain and drops the weapon, which quickly transforms back to his bayard.

“Fuck” He hisses quietly as he clutches his bruised hand to his chest.

“You never listen.” Lance sighs and strolls over to him.

Keith grimaces, barely noticing the other. He carefully moves his hand away from his body to look at it. His fingers are red and starting to swell. He can almost see them pulse in time with his heart beat.

When Lance covers his mouth with a hand and wraps his free arm around his chest, dark spots start to form in his vision again. The door to Pidge's room is getting smaller as he's pulled away from it.

“Don't worry.” He hears Lance purr. His voice is loud and seems to echo through Keith's head. “I'll take care of you.”

A whine escapes him and he tries to reach out with his uninjured hand. It's just a pathetic last try to hold onto what is left of his awareness. Somehow he still notices them entering a room and the doors sliding shut behind them. That's when the dark spots start to spread until he drifts off completely.

~ ~ ~

When Keith wakes up again, the first thing he notices are the goosebumps covering the naked skin of his arms and chest. He shivers and slowly blinks his eyes open.

He looks up at a blank white ceiling and for a moment it's like he's just waking up on another day in space. That hopeful thought fades quickly when he lets his head fall to the side and comes face to face with Lance. The blue paladin is lying on his side next to Keith on the bed. Keith's eyes move down at the other's tanned chest and then to the white suit in a pile on the floor in the middle of the room.

“Lance...” He starts and tries to sit up but Lance just shakes his head and pushes him down again with a hand on his chest.

“Don't move. You have a concussion, remember?”

“And whose fault is that?” Keith hisses and pushes his hand away. “Why am I naked?” He asks with a glare and moves his legs underneath the covers to confirm his fear. “Where are my clothes?”

Lance smirks and leans a bit closer. “What do you need them for?”

“Not being naked?”

“I like you being naked. I mean, I've seen it before but not with the intention of actually touching you.”

“Touching?” Keith gasps and sits up a bit too quickly, making his head spin again. He groans and falls back into the cushions immediately.

“Easy” Lance purrs and sits up more, grinning down at Keith. “I'd prefer for you to be conscious for this.”

His voice sounds distant to Keith as the world once again starts to shake around him. Lance watches him and when the red paladin doesn't react, he hums in thought before pulling the covers back. Keith whines at the cold air reaching his body. He briefly shuts his eyes and when he blinks them open again, Lance is hovering above him with his hands beside the smaller man's head.

“Hey, stay with me.” He whispers and leans in slowly, the touch of his lips against Keith's soft this time. Lance tries to deepen the kiss and pry his lips open with his tongue but Keith doesn't react, so the blue paladin sits up again. “You don't seem to be into it. I guess we'll just skip the foreplay.”

“Please don't do this.” Keith whispers. He opens his mouth to voice more pleas, all sense of shame gone by now, but Lance stops him by shoving two fingers into his mouth without warning.

“Sorry but I think this is better than using food goo.” Lance laughs. “You better not bite. Sure, I'd prefer you to be conscious but I won't hesitate to knock you out again.”

Keith shuts his eyes tightly and tries to ignore the fingers roaming around in his mouth. He can't stop the pathetic sob from escaping him.

“If you want this to go by smoothly you should try to relax but I think you know that already.”

The red paladin's eyes open slightly and he manages to send a glare the other's way. Lance smiles sweetly and pulls his fingers free with a plop.

“You're insane.” Keith gasps and licks his dry lips.

Lance observes him and eventually sighs, leaning closer and locking eyes with Keith. “Okay, listen. You didn't seem that repulsed by the idea when we were making out earlier. To me, that seems like you might be a little bit into me too. Or you're just really desperate.”

Keith makes sure to move slowly when he sits up on his elbows. Lance leans back and waits for his next move.

“The Galra did something to you and I won't just sit back and watch. And I'll certainly not be your little slut while you're wreaking havoc.” Keith hisses and falls back against the pillow.

Lance narrows his eyes. “They promised my family would be safe.”

“Do you really think they give a shit about a promise?!” Keith groans while staring up at the ceiling. “They are the bad guys here.”

“They don't care about earth or else they would've attacked already. I check constantly if they reached it and they never did. I won't risk them hurting anyone because of this. Just be glad you're part of the deal.”

“And what about the others? Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran...don't you care about them?”

“Not enough.”

“But me?”

Lance sighs and turns his head away. “You don't have any family. I don't expect you to understand it.” He says softly.

“I'm not your family.”

“You're not but I know that you want one. You want to be part of something. No one ever really cared about you. You were always lonely and had no real friends. Hunk and Pidge are my friends, Allura and Coran only see you as one of the paladins and Shiro? Shiro cares more about the galaxy and honor.”

Keith shuts his eyes again and tries to ignore Lance's words, to not let them get to his head.

“I would never let you down. You would always be my number one.” Lance whispers and runs a finger down Keith's temple. “Just know that I love you. I love you with all of my fucked up, piece of shit heart.”

Keith opens his eyes again and looks up at Lance who smiles down at him. Maybe it's the concussion making him see things but it really looks like Lance means what he says. There is something in the way he's watching Keith that seems sincere. Still…

“Go to hell.” He sobs pathetically.

Lance grabs his face with both hands and smiles menacingly. “Come with me?” He purrs and places a kiss on the other's lips.

This whole situation is so fucked up. Keith should try to overpower Lance somehow and make a run for it. He should wake the others and tell them what he knows so they can free Shiro and come up with a plan. There are so many things that he should do, that are expected of him because of who he is. Sure, he is a paladin of Voltron but he never chose to be and somewhere deep inside he is still an insecure teenage boy who wants nothing but to give in and see where this goes, where they might end up.

“If I give in, will you promise not to hurt the others?” He asks against Lance's lips, blinking up at him pleadingly.

“If that's what you want.”

He thinks about it briefly and eventually nods. “Yeah”

“Okay, I promise.” Keith hesitates before leaning up on his elbows again. Lance watches him closely and traces the line of his bottom lip with his index finger. “Suck”

The red paladin's lips part and he moves forward to wrap them around the fingers, wrapping his tongue around them slowly while his gaze still rests on Lance, who is smiling slightly as he watches the other.

“You really do look like a slut right now.” He whispers. “My little slut.”

Keith drops his gaze in embarrassment. He makes sure to lick a few more times before pulling away again. “That should be enough.”

Lance chuckles and his eyes never leave Keith as he lets his hand trail down his body. Once it reaches Keith's cock, the smaller man bites his bottom lip. Somehow he actually managed to get half-hard. The blue paladin smiles and moves one finger along the underside of it but otherwise ignores it. His hand slides across Keith's balls slowly and eventually stop at his hole.

Without warning he presses one finger inside, immediately twisting it around in search for a certain spot.

Keith grimaces and tries to relax the best he can while Lance starts a steady rhythm.

“Relax” He whispers and uses his free hand to pinch one of Keith's nipples, drawing a soft moan from him. “That's what I want to hear.”

The smaller man glares down at Lance but the blue paladin chooses that moment to shove a second finger in alongside the first one, making him whine at the sudden stretch.

Lance scissors his fingers, still in search for Keith's sweet spot. It doesn't take him much longer to find it and the sound between a moan and a whimper is like music to his ears.

“Did you make those noises for that idiot at the Garrison as well?” He whispers close to Keith's ear, who either refuses to reply or simply can't as Lance keeps massaging the spot he just found. “Even if that's the case, it doesn't really matter because from now on no one but me will hear this.”

Keith tenses up and a shiver runs down his spine at the possessiveness in Lance's voice. He is shocked at how hot it makes him feel.

“One more, sweetie.” Lance chuckles and wiggles a third finger inside, more careful this time.

Keith barely registers the stretch when yet another jolt of pleasure runs through his body. He catches himself pushing back against the fingers and feels his face heat up but the embarrassment is forgotten quickly when Lance moves down to catch his lips in a deep kiss.

At a deep press of his fingers Keith moans and Lance takes the opportunity to slip his tongue into his mouth, swallowing every noise. Their tongues rub together and Keith quickly lets Lance take control due to the lack of attentiveness.

The blue paladin takes his time exploring his mouth and to Keith it feels like an eternity until he finally lets him breathe and slowly pulls his fingers out.

“Think you're ready?” Lance laughs softly while watching Keith with half-lidded eyes.

Keith pants and blinks up at the other. “Maybe we should...not do this.”

“Are you trying to back out now? It's a bit too late for that.”

“Lance...”

“Yes, Keith?”

“I just...I want you to think about what you're doing here. One last time.” He pleads desperately. “Please.”

Lance frowns and sits back, observing Keith. “I know what I'm doing. I finally do.”

“But why?”

“Because life is too short to not try everything you can to get what you want. One day, each of us will die and when that moment comes, I won't think about the people I saved or my honor or whatever. Fuck space, fuck the lions and Voltron. All I want is for you to be by my side when it ends.” Lance explains. “This war will never end because there's always someone ruthless enough to continue it or start a new one. It's just the same on earth. Was there ever a time of peace?” He shakes his head and chuckles. “No. And because of that, I refuse to wait any longer for my life to start. I will take it into my own hands. Good, bad. I don't care anymore.”

Keith swallows nervously as he watches Lance. “That's...a lot of thought you put into this.”

“You thought I wouldn't?”

“Not really. You're the goofball after all.”

Lance laughs at that and Keith can't hold back his own smile. The whole situation feels even more fucked up after everything Lance just told him but in a way his words actually make sense.

“Anyway…” Lance starts and slowly reaches out to run his knuckles down Keith’s cheek. “Where were we?”

Keith shivers and opens his mouth to reply, when suddenly the ship’s alarm starts blasting through the room. Both paladins flinch in shock and look up.

“Seriously?!” Lance yells and jumps off the bed. “I swear, whoever is attacking will get it!”

Keith sits up carefully so the room won’t start spinning again. He watches as Lance puts on his paladin armor, anger still prominent on his face.

“Uh, I kinda need to go to my room for that.” Keith says and slowly slides his legs off the bed.

Lance looks at him over his shoulder and groans. “I’ll go get it for you.”

“You don’t…”

But Lance is already out the door and Keith hears him locking it from outside. The red paladin shuts his eyes and falls back onto the bed. This whole situation is way too confusing for him. He should really tell Allura so they can solve this mess.

What if Lance is right though? Keith was always alone. Sure, he had Shiro, who is like a brother to him, but the man is almost always busy with the war around them. He hurt Lance though. Even though the blue paladin provoked him to make it look like Shiro is the bad one.

Keith reaches up to pull his hair in frustration.

He doesn’t like this.

He doesn’t like this at all.


	4. Emperor's New Clothes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title song:  
> Emperor's New Clothes by Panic! at the Disco

Ten minutes later, Keith and Lance are the last ones to arrive. When the door slides open, the others turn their heads to look at them.

“Lance, you’re awake!” Hunk cheers.

“Yes, but why is Keith with you?” Pidge asks with narrowed eyes.

“He was there when I woke up.” Lance announces and throws an arm over the red paladin’s shoulders, “Like a good buddy.”

Pidge rolls her eyes and focuses on Allura again. The princess looks from Keith to Lance, obviously feeling uncomfortable with the whole situation. “Paladins, I know that we have our own obstacles to overcome at the moment but a nearby planet just sent a distress signal. The…”

“The Galra attacked and now Voltron has to save the day.” Lance finishes, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She frowns and blinks at him. “Indeed. It appears to be a smaller Galra ship meant to gather information on the planet’s resources. It shouldn’t take too long.”

“Wait!” Keith blurts out as soon as she’s finished. “Where’s Shiro?”

Next to him, Lance sends him a glare.

Allura sighs and her gaze wanders to Lance again. “He’s still in the prison cell. When this mission is over we should stick to our original plan and get Lance in one as well. For now, since the other paladins might feel uncomfortable in his presence at the moment, I thought it would be better to send you down there without Shiro.” She hesitates and addresses Lance. “Don’t make me regret this.”

Keith seems taken aback at that. He narrows his eyes and steps forward. “And what if we need Voltron?”

“No need to worry about that.” Coran chimes in, twirling his mustache proudly. “It is a small ship with hardly a dozen Galra on board. I also made sure to scan the area to see if they have any backup. It’s all safe. If you’re not able to do this without Voltron, then I’ll really start to worry about your skills.”

“No need to offend us, Coran.” Lance laughs as he steps up to Keith. “See? We’ll manage!” He cheers and whirls around to head to the lions. “Last one outside is a Galra spy!”

Hunk and Pidge hesitate briefly before doing so as well while Keith simply looks after them, a frown on his face.

“Keith…” Allura starts when the other three are gone. “Is there anything you want to tell me?” She asks softly and puts a hand on his shoulder. “You know, whatever is going on at the moment, we can find a way to fix it.”

The red paladin looks up at her and opens his mouth to speak. He wants to tell her about Lance, about the fact that the Galra did something to their fellow paladin. He wants to tell her that he is obsessed with Keith somehow and is probably a danger to the other. He wants to tell her that Lance provoked Shiro into hurting him. All of that, he wants to get out before anything bad can happen.

That’s why he doesn’t know why he simply whirls around and shakes his head. “No, everything is fine.” He mumbles and heads off as well, all the while thinking about what he is doing and why. The answer to that?

He has no idea.

~ ~ ~

The planet is called Avemnon and, to their surprise, is an ice planet inhabited by humanoid bird creatures.

They look rather interesting. Their faces remind of a human but that’s it. Instead of hair, feathers cover their heads, the colors ranging from white to blue and sometimes black. However, what’s most intriguing are their eyes, which are all iris and shining in the brightest colors of the rainbow.

After they scared the Galra enough to flee, they land their lions near a large glacier. At least it looks like that at first. Once they step out into the icy air, they realize the creatures turned it into a huge castle of sorts.

“Wow, this is so cool!” Hunk sighs dreamily. “A freaking ice palace.”

“For freaking bird people.” Pidge adds as the two step closer to it just in time for a tall Avemnonian to step out of the huge glacier.

“Paladins of Voltron!” The alien greets them, his voice deep and melodic. The feathers on his head reach down to the middle of his back and are a dark blue while his eyes shine in a light red. His skin appears grey but the usual skin color for Avemnonians is a light indigo.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, even if it has to be under those circumstances.” He steps closer to them. “Please call me Ameru. I am the leader of this clan and the highest in command of the big circle.”

The paladins look at each other in confusion but quietly agree not to question it. Coran can fill them in on the facts later.

Hunk and Pidge are the first to introduce themselves, then Keith and Lance finally step closer as well.

To Keith’s surprise, he wasn’t able to notice a difference in Lance’s behavior during battle. Probably because that would be too obvious. The red paladin is glad though.

“The name’s Lance.” The blue paladin introduces himself and Ameru nods and smiles before looking at Keith.

“And what is the name of this breathtaking creature?” The Avemnonian asks and Keith almost flinches back in shock, his cheeks surely turning red.

“Uh, Keith…” He stutters and Ameru beams at him. The red paladin shivers at that and wraps his arms around himself.

Next to him, Lance tenses and stands straighter, trying to match the Avemnonian’s height but it’s useless. “He is our red paladin and part Galra.” Lance says and steps closer to Keith, who frowns at him.

“Part Galra, huh?” Ameru asks and blinks those almost threatening red eyes at Keith. “I heard Galra are rather prone to the cold.”

“Huh?” Keith asks. He really has no idea what is going on at the moment.

“That’s actually true. Their home planet was near two suns, which made them used to the heat all year.” Pidge says while adjusting her glasses.

Hunk hums in thought and Lance turns his head to look down at Keith. “Are you cold?”

The red paladin glares up at him as another shiver runs down his back. “Uh, yes? Aren’t you?”

“Not really. The armor keeps it at bay.” The other says thoughtfully. “I don’t think we have anything to warm you with though.”

Suddenly, Ameru claps his hands and two female Avemnonians appear, holding something that looks like a huge blanket made of colorful feathers. They step up to Keith and drape it around him. He holds onto it instinctively and looks down at it with a frown.

“There you go.” Ameru says and bows slightly. “A fitting gown to keep you warm.”

Keith glances at him briefly before carefully stroking a hand over the feathers of the blanket.

“It is made of the feathers of our passed brothers and sisters. You see, the feathers of Avemnonians are a sacred part of us. When one of us dies, we keep the feathers so no one really leaves us.”

“Gross” Pidge mumbles but Hunk slaps the back of her head lightly.

“That’s nice and all but I don’t think he will need this.” Lance says and reaches out to take the blanket off Keith but Ameru jumps forward and glares at him, a strange growl-like noise escaping him,

“We did not give you permission to touch. Like I said, our feathers are sacred, dead or alive.”

“But Keith though…” Hunk starts awkwardly and shrugs.

“No more of this. You wanted to talk to us about a coalition, right? Let’s head inside for that.” Ameru announces and motions towards the entrance to the huge hollow glacier before holding his arm out for Keith to take.

The red paladin blushes yet again and hesitates at first but eventually accepts it in fear of angering the strange alien. As soon as he holds onto the Avemnonian’s arm, Ameru starts pulling him along while the other three paladins watch in shock.

“What the heck? Keith isn’t even that good-looking.” Pidge chuckles and shakes her head to herself as they start following.

“You take that back.” Lance hisses quietly, his glaring eyes never leaving Ameru’s back though.

“Lance, buddy, you okay?” Hunk asks carefully.

“Just peachy!” The blue paladin growls as they walk into the palace.

Ameru leads them through a long corridor, towards the room at the end, which turns out to be some kind of meeting room. There’s a table in the middle and six chairs surrounding it, all of it made of some sort of black stone. Through the icy walls shines light, making the room glow in a soft blue.

Ameru leads Keith to one of the chairs and sits next to him quickly. The red paladin looks like he wants to anywhere else at the moment, his eyes lowered and his cheeks pink.

Lance rushes over to sit on Keith’s other side, still glaring at the alien.

“So, Keith, do you have a mate?” Ameru asks while Hunk and Pidge sit down across from them, or attempt to. Hunk has to hold onto the back of the chair and Pidge slips on the ice floor and lands on her butt. They exchange looks before staring at the Avemnonian in shock.

“W-what?” Keith asks innocently and Ameru smirks.

That’s it. Lance pushes the chair back and jumps to his feet, his bayard quickly appearing in his hand and turning into his blaster. He aims it at the alien’s head. “Stop hitting on him or I can’t promise anything.” He growls.

Ameru looks at the weapon pointed at him and raises an eyebrow. “And why are you reacting that way, blue paladin?”

“He’s our friend, duh.” Pidge says after getting to her feet again. “And we are here to talk about the coalition and not your bedroom affairs. No offense.”

Ameru raises a feathery eyebrow before letting out a soft laugh. “Oh, I see the confusion. Excuse me. I forgot this is not usual for other species.” He starts explaining and carefully pushes Lance’s blaster away from his face. “You see, in our culture, whenever some kind of deal or agreement happens between two races, the party asking for a favor needs to bring a gift to show they mean well. With time that changed from tiny gifts to the formation of bonds between two beings to ensure peace.”

The paladins stare at him for a while, all four of them shocked. They met a lot of different races already, but this?

“So, basically, you want to have Keith in return for you being part of the coalition?” Hunk asks carefully.

Ameru nods. “Exactly. I’ve been searching for a fitting mate for a while now and I think your red paladin will do quite well.”

Keith’s mouth is hanging open as he follows the conversation. He is absolutely overwhelmed with the situation, and not in a good way. “Uh…what?” He stutters quietly.

“That’s it. I’m blasting his head off.” Lance hisses and raises his weapon again.

“Lance, no!” Pidge says quickly and steps between the two. “Don’t. We’ll contact Allura and discuss this. She probably just forgot to tell us her plan.”

“A plan?” Ameru asks. “That is not the way this will go. The deal is your red paladin for our part in your fight.”

“Well, what could we need you for, huh? You can’t even fight off a small Galra ship on your own.” Lance barks.

“This planet has a natural energy core.” Hunk explains quietly. “Inside the tunnels closer to it, there is a huge occurrence of different kinds of steel which we could use.”

“So we are just selling Keith for that? Not on my watch!” Lance growls and grabs Keith’s arm roughly, pulling him to his feet. The feather blanket falls off his shoulders and onto the floor. “We are leaving. No coalition. Fuck off, birdman!”

Ameru looks down at the sacred blanket, his eyes glowing furiously. “Are you sure?” He asks calmly, focusing on Pidge and Hunk.

“Uh, I think we should go back to the castle ship for now and discuss the matter with princess Allura.” Hunk explains politely. “We are very sorry.”

“I see…” Ameru says and gets up as well. The alien gracefully steps closer to Lance who is pushing a still stocked Keith behind his back. “One question for you, blue paladin. Is he yours?”

Lance slowly leans in, glaring daggers at the alien. “Yes” He hisses menacingly.

“Then I suggest you take claim very soon for your mate will most likely attract more attention in the future.” Ameru purrs and smirks at Keith. “So delicate and yet so strong. That is a combination certain creatures want to see on their knees.” The Avemnonian looks down at the hand that is still holding Keith’s arm possessively. “But I don’t have to tell you that.”

Lance smiles coldly and whirls around to leave, pushing Keith towards the exit.

Hunk and Pidge watch with wide eyes as the two paladins leave before looking at each other.

“What the hell just happened?” Hunk asks but Pidge just shrugs.

“Raw instinct. I didn’t know humans worked that way.” Ameru says. “I wish for you to leave as well. Your princess may contact me but don’t expect any sort of collaboration.”

The two nod and run after their friends quickly.


	5. This Is Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ho!
> 
> I don't have too much to say just that if you're into this story, you should really listen to the title song for this chapter!
> 
> This Is Love by Air Traffic Controller
> 
> Have fun!

“Paladins! You are back? How’d it go?” Allura cheers once Lance and Keith enter the bridge. Her expression falls quickly though when she notices the rage on the blue paladin’s face. “Lance? Is everything okay?”

Lance’s eyes slowly move to look at her. “When did you plan on telling us that those bird people want one of us in return for their cooperation?” He hisses and narrows his eyes.

Allura flinches back at his voice and blinks in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,  _ princess _ !” Lance barks. “Their leader was undressing Keith with his eyes the whole time before straight up asking if he was single. He told us that it is usual for them to form bonds with other races for peace.”

“Well, was Keith into it? I heard that Avemnonians are great lovers.” Coran laughs from his place behind Allura.

Lance focuses on the Altean and his jaw tenses. “I’m going to say this once. No one touches Keith.”

Allura’s eyes widen and Coran’s smile fades as they let the words sink in before looking at Keith. The red paladin is blinking up at Lance, his eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“Lance, that’s not something you get to decide.” He says, trying to stay calm. He immediately regrets it when their eyes meet and he can almost feel the anger radiating off the other. Keith is almost prepared to fight him when Lance’s face suddenly changes to a soft smile.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He says and sighs heavily. “I just…” He glances at Allura and Coran, who are still watching them closely. “I guess I got a little jealous, you know?” Lance smiles sweetly and Keith just knows that it’s fake.

“What a change of events!” Coran exclaims when the door slides open and Pidge and Hunk step in.

“What is?” The yellow paladin asks, taking in the scene before them.

“Apparently, our blue paladin over here has a thing for Keith!” Coran cheers, suddenly appearing beside the two boys to wrap his arms around both their shoulders. “Oh, I was hoping something like that would happen.”

Allura chuckles behind them and turns to check the screens, content with the way the situation turned.

“I feel like we should be surprised.” Hunk mumbles but soon a big smile lights up his face.

Next to him, Pidge is watching Keith with narrowed eyes. “Oh?  _ Great. _ ” She says sarcastically.

Coran simply ignores her and beams at the two paladins in his grip. “I was always hoping for a romance to bloom between two paladins. Even back then.”

“Why?” Keith asks as he tries to get out of the Altean’s grip.

“Keith, my boy, it’s simply because love is something wonderful.”

“We’re not talking about love here.”

“Not yet.”

The red paladin finally manages to free himself and takes a few steps back, looking from face to face. “That’s enough. I don’t…” He shakes his head to himself. “This is too much, okay?”

“Yeah, I mean I always knew Lance had a little crush on Keith but don’t marry them yet, Coran.” Hunk laughs.

“No! This is not funny, okay? You don’t get to watch this and laugh when you have no idea what’s going on!” Keith yells at them, looking from Hunk to Coran.

“Keith, calm down.” Lance says calmly and reaches out to put a hand on the red paladin’s shoulder.

Keith jumps back like the touch would burn him. “Don’t touch me!”

Lance flinches back, his arm hanging in the air as he narrows his eyes. Allura focuses her attention back on the paladins and steps closer. “Keith, what is the problem here?”

“You want to know what my problem is?”

She blinks and glances at the others before nodding.

“My problem is that you guys don’t see what’s happening here!” Keith hisses. “Shiro is still locked up! Don’t you care?”

“We talked about this. It is safer for us since we barely know anything about what the Galra technology is doing to him.” Allura states calmly.

“What about the other side of the story though?”

She frowns at that.

“Keith…” Lance says. “Stop it.”

Keith looks at Lance and crosses his arms. “I’m tired of this. Shiro didn’t attack Lance.”

Everyone tenses up at that, staring at the red paladin.

“What are you saying?” Allura asks.

“I’m saying that Shiro isn’t the bad guy here.” Keith sighs while still watching Lance. “Something happened on that Galra ship when Lance didn’t return with us. He’s been acting strange.”

“What?!” Pidge snaps. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

Hunk starts to shake his head. “No, I mean, we saw the wound and it was obviously Shiro’s arm. No other weapon does that.”

“I’m not saying that Shiro didn’t hurt him.” Keith explains. “But Shiro didn’t attack him. He was defending himself.”

Pidge’s eyes widen at that and Hunk shakes his head desperately. “No, I don’t believe that. That’s not true. Right, Lance?” The yellow paladin asks quietly.

Lance is still watching Keith, his face void of any emotion. “I would never do that, Hunk.” He says but it sounds forced.

“Stop lying.” Keith pleads. “Just let us help you.”

Silence falls over them as everyone keeps watching Lance, waiting for a reaction, an explanation. He says nothing though and after a few long seconds Keith drops his gaze and his bayard appears in his hand.

“Keith!” Pidge calls anxiously. “What are you doing?”

The red bayard slowly transforms into his signature sword and he looks up at the others. “We need to take care of this. Someone get Shiro.”

“We have no proof!” The greed paladin yells. “This is crazy!”

“Keith, buddy…” Hunk mumbles nervously, his eyes moving around frantically.

“Look, I know this seems- ” Keith doesn’t get to finish his sentence as something hits his chest and he is thrown back, hitting a wall roughly before sliding to the floor. He groans and coughs a few times, trying to force air into his aching lungs.

Lance sets his foot down again and lets out a breath. He shakes his head to himself and stomps over to Keith.

“Lance?” Hunk asks carefully.

“This is not funny.” Pidge pleads quickly. “Stop”

But Lance ignores them as he leans down to rip the sword out of the red paladin’s hand. It changes back into the bayard again and he throws it across the room.

“Lance, explain yourself right now!” Allura demands, taking a few steps towards him.

The blue paladin turns to face her and smiles when suddenly the lights darken and start to blink red, the usual alarm echoing through the castle.

Allura’s eyes widen and she whirls around to check the screen.

“Princess?” Coran asks and rushes to her side.

Keith lifts his head and puts one hand on the wall to slowly lift himself up. “What is happening?” He groans.

Pidge and Hunk exchange looks before both their bayards appear, instantly shifting into their weapons. They point them at Lance who is watching the screen with a wicked smile.

Allura puts both hands on the controls and stares at the information with wide eyes. “The Galra found us.”

“Ain’t that something new.” Pidge hisses while glaring at Lance.

When Allura remains silent Pidge and Hunk look up at her nervously. “Allura?” Hunk gasps. “What is going on?”

Allura’s eyes move around frantically. “There are too many of them and we can’t form Voltron.” Suddenly, she turns around, her eyes bright with anger as she stares down at Lance. “What did you do?”

“Sent a signal with my lion while we were fighting them on Avemnon.” The blue paladin explains almost happily.

“Why? Why would you do that?”

Lance waves one hand at her dismissively. “Just a little sacrifice for the greater good.”

“Lance, you promised!” Keith gasps behind him, making Lance look at him over his shoulder. “You promised not to hurt them.”

“I did, yes.” He nods slowly before smiling sweetly at Keith. “What was your part in that deal again? Oh, yes! I remember! You backed out. Sorry, honey. No deal.”

“You wanted me to pay with sex! I’m glad I didn’t do it, not while you’re like this!” Keith yells and stomps forward.

“Wait, what?” Pidge gasps and drops her weapon.

“Guys, the Galra…” Hunk reminds them.

“We need to go get Shiro.” Allura says as she steps away from the screens. “And Lance has to be put in a cell.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Lance says slowly before reaching out to grab Keith’s arm, pulling him against his chest. Keith stumbles, too surprised to react in time. The blue bayard appears in Lance’s hand and changes into his blaster. He points the weapon at Keith’s head and observes the others.

Explosions light up the room when the Galra ships surrounding them start the fire. Groans echo through the room as the ship shakes at the impact.

Keith starts struggling against the arm around him, not even looking at the weapon pointed at him. “Fuck! Let me go!”

“What a dirty little mouth.” Lance purrs into his ear. “Once this is over, we’ll put it to good use.” Keith attempts to thrash around even more but Lance puts more pressure on the blaster, making him freeze. “Stop. I won’t kill you, but I will most certainly hurt you.”

“Paladins! To your lions! Now!” Allura yells.

Pidge and Hunk look at each other and then at Keith and Lance.

“But princess…” Hunk starts, but Allura glares at them.

“We don’t have time for this. Go to your lions. Coran, you go and get Shiro.”

The two paladins hesitate before nodding and rushing off. Coran, who is watching Lance and Keith nervously, nods slowly and runs off as well a few seconds later.

Allura simply ignores the other two and steps over to the controls again. She pushes a few buttons and activates the particle barrier before turning to face them. “Now, what is this about? I want an explanation.”

Lance, who had his nose buried in the raven’s hair, lifts his head to blink at the princess lazily. “An explanation?”

“Yes, and would you mind letting go of Keith?” She hisses and steps closer. “Tell me what you want.”

Lance hums to himself and slowly drops his weapon while still holding onto the other. “I want the same thing as everyone else.”

“Which would be?”

“For my loved ones to be safe.”

Allura hesitates a few seconds before crossing her arms. “Would you mind explaining what you mean?”

“The Galra promised to leave earth alone if I helped them. Earth, my family and Keith.”

“Keith?”

Lance nods and tightens his grip around the red paladin’s waist. Keith simply glares at the floor and tries to ignore the fingers pressing into his hips. “He’s kinda obsessed with me.” He mumbles.

“Oh, honey. Obsessed is such a harsh word.” Lance laughs.

“Lance” Allura warns and the blue paladin groans before focusing on her again. “I think all of us had the time to get to know each other a bit and I hope I’m not wrong when I say that I think I know what kind of person you are by now. You are usually so kind and you would do everything for the people important to you.”

“Exactly my point. So?”

Allura frowns and drops her gaze. “What did they do to you? This isn’t you. Surely, the witch is controlling you.”

Lance rolls his eyes at that. “No one is controlling me.”

“They stripped him of his morals.” Keith tells her quietly. “I think.”

Allura swallows nervously. “That is…not good.”

“Oh no!” Lance cries dramatically. “What a horrible situation! What are you going to do now?” He chuckles and Keith rolls his eyes.

“So tired of this.” The red paladin groans quietly.

“Shut up. You love it.”

“Paladins! Are you serious?”

Both Keith and Lance seem taken aback for a moment as they look up at Allura before mumbling a silent ‘sorry’.

“Lance, what is their plan?”

“They want the lions, duh.”

“And I take it you’re not going to help us?”

“Nah, I was thinking about asking them if I could keep blue, then grab Keith and get out of here.”

Keith turns his head in the other’s grip to glare up at him. “Like I’m coming with you.”

“I didn’t say you would come along willingly. I know that.”

“Great that we’ve established that.”

Allura turns to the controls again after the castle shakes again. “It’s like talking to children!” She hisses. Another alarm starts buzzing and Allura opens a hologram map of the castle. At least half a dozen red dots are moving around on it. “The Galra made it onto the ship! How?”

“Oh, I might’ve sent them some data about the castle ship. They probably know how to break the barrier in certain spots.” Lance explains quickly.

“Lance!” She cries. “Not helping!”

“I know! That’s the whole point of this!”

“Can you please just shut up!” Keith whines and starts struggling again.

Allura sends them a glare before sending a message to the others. “Paladins, the Galra are on the ship. I will send you the map so you can take care of them. Shiro, are you with us?”

“Yes” Comes Shiro’s reply.

Lance lets out a groan at that. “This is getting annoying. We’re leaving.” Keith looks at him over his shoulder, a frown on his face. When Lance grabs him around the middle and throws the smaller paladin over his shoulder, a surprised gasp escapes him.

“Lance! Put me down!”

“Isn’t it cute how he’s still trying?” Lance chuckles, beaming at Allura, who rolls her eyes at him.

“No one is leaving the castle.” She states and turns towards the controls again. She reaches out to push a button, most likely to lock up the castle, when a ray of blue rushes past her, hitting the control panel. She stumbles back and stares at it in shock before whirling around to look at Lance, her face tense. “You did not just do that.”

“Whoops!” Lance laughs. He adjusts a thrashing Keith on his shoulder and starts walking towards the door. “See you never, princess!”

“Lance!” She yells, stomping forward but stopping suddenly when the castle starts to shake again.

Lance rushes out into the hall and pats Keith’s behind happily. “I don’t know about you but I’m rather happy about the outcome of this.”

Keith, who is resting his elbow on Lance’s shoulder and his chin in his hand, simply groans in annoyance. “Worst day ever.”

“Okay, your attitude is seriously getting on my nerves.”

“Sorry, you can just leave me here.”

“Not gonna happen, pretty boy.”

Keith freezes and twists his head around to glare at Lance. The blue paladin opens his mouth to speak again when a figure rounds a corner and stops in front of them. 

“Shiro.” Lance says. He blinks a few times in surprise before smiling at the black paladin. “I was hoping we wouldn’t see each other again, to be honest.”

“I bet.” Shiro mumbles as he takes in the situation. He observes Lance and stops when he notices Keith. “What do you think you’re doing, Lance? Put Keith down. This is over.”

Keith uses the lack of Lance’s focus on him to knee him in the ribs. Lance gasps in surprise, and most likely pain, and finally lets go, letting Keith fall face-forward onto the floor. 

“Fuck!” The raven yells as he rolls onto his back, holding his head. “What is your problem with my head?!”

Lance turns to look down at him, a breathless chuckle escaping him as he holds his ribs. “Careful, honey. You have a concussion, remember?”

“Lance” Shiro warns and the blue paladin faces him again. “I will ask this once. Please just follow me to one of the prison cells willingly and we can take care of this.”

“I don’t think so.” Lance hisses quietly and drops his hand to call for his bayard. 

Shiro’s eyes move down as the blaster forms in the other’s hand. “How the blue lion didn’t reject you yet is beyond me.”

“That might be because I’m not freaking possessed!” Lance yells and raises his weapon. “For Keith’s sake, I’ll let you go so please just fuck off.”

Keith pushes himself to his feet behind him, holding onto the wall. If he didn’t have a concussion before, he definitely has one now. Dark spots fill his vision and his stomach feels like it’s spinning. He closes his eyes and tries to call for his own bayard but before he can even try to concentrate, he drops to his knees as bile rises up his throat. 

Shiro, who is standing with his glowing robot arm raised, hesitates as he notices the red paladin’s condition. “Keith, are you okay?”

Lance glances over his shoulder and smirks before pointing his blaster at their leader and pulling the trigger, the laser hitting Shiro’s shoulder. The black paladin is thrown into the next wall and slides to the floor. 

“Now we’re even.” Lance says darkly and turns to Keith again. “Get up or I’ll have to carry you again.” Keith is still retching and Lance grimaces at the mess in front of him. “I doubt you’re walking anywhere anytime soon.” He steps around Keith and wraps his arms around his middle to hoist him up, drawing a whimper from the red paladin. 

“Don’t…” 

“Shh, don’t worry.” Lance whispers as he slides his arms underneath Keith to pick him up bridal style. “I’ll get us somewhere safe.”

Keith blinks up at Lance, trying to clear his vision. “It was safe here.” He slurs and struggles weakly, making the other laugh. 

“Not really.” Lance says softly and it almost sounds like his old self. 

Keith tries to stay focused but it’s impossible as more dots of darkness dance around in front of him. He reaches out weakly and manages to grab the collar of Lance’s armour. 

The blue paladin looks down at him as he starts walking but says nothing. Soon, voices come closer. Keith doesn’t recognize them though. They are talking to Lance but he can’t make out the words. He keeps trying to take in his surroundings but it gets harder and harder. 

The last thing he sees is the blue lion towering above them before he finally blacks out. 


	6. Beast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title:  
> Beast by Mia Martina, Waka Flocka Flame
> 
> A/N: Okay so this chapter is pretty long and oh oh there's smut. I'll let you decide whether it's consentual or not.   
> This is the last chapter I had already written so now it might take a while for me to update. 
> 
> Any ideas or scenes you'd like to see? Tell me! Also, I didn't proof-read again so if there are any mistakes, please let me know. 
> 
> Enjoy!

When Keith wakes up it’s not slow or soft. It’s sudden and with a scream. 

He sits up, panting heavily as he takes in his surroundings. 

Blue. Everything is blue. 

He turns his head and spots the piloting chair and the nothingness of space. A mop of brown hair whips from side to side as the blue paladin is humming to himself while piloting. 

Keith gets up slowly, careful as to not make a sound, and sneaks closer to the chair. He reaches out to hold onto the top, ready to wrap his free arm around Lance’s throat. 

“How are you feeling, beautiful?” Keith freezes and takes a step back when Lance turns to smile up at him. “You look better and since you’re ready to attack me again I’d say whatever the druids did, it worked.”

“The...the druids?” The red paladin’s eyes widen in shock. 

“Yup” Lance cheers and turns to look forward again. “I asked them to heal you before we left.”

“You let them use their magic on me?!” Keith cries in disbelief. 

“I threatened them like five times before they did anything. Apparently, they have orders not to hurt us.”

Keith simply keeps staring at the back of the other’s head in shock. “You...You can’t be serious! Those are the Galra! They are the bad guys!”

“I told you that I don’t give a shit. They healed you and that’s all I care about.”

Keith shakes his head and sinks back against the wall. “You’re absolutely insane.” He mumbles in defeat. “The druids, huh? So I guess it was Zarkon’s witch who fucked with your head. I should’ve known.”

Lance remains silent and simply reaches his hand out, motioning for Keith to com closer. The red paladin hesitates briefly before slowly stepping forward. 

“Listen, I get why this is difficult to take in, okay?” Lance says softly and takes hold of Keith's hand once he's close enough. “But did you want to be a paladin? Fighting in a space war can't be what you had in mind for your future.”

“I didn't have anything in mind for my future. Just…” Keith pauses and looks down at their joined hands as Lance's thumb starts stroking over his hand slowly. “I was just trying to get by.”

“Sounds like a great life.” Lance chuckles sarcastically and pushes a button on the headboard, putting Blue on autopilot. “Where do you want to go?”

Keith frowns and blinks down at him. “Huh?”

“Like…we could go back to earth. This war is over for us.”

“Go back?”

“Yeah, why not?”

Keith hums and lowers his head. He tries to imagine it. They would go back to earth, Lance would probably want them to go see his family. They could start a normal life somewhere. Images of the beach fill his head, the sun warm above them. It almost makes him smile.

His thoughts keep wandering. Lance going back to earth with the way he is acting could end in chaos. If all he cares about are Keith and his family, nothing would hold him back from hurting anyone.

Also, they have a bigger chance at getting Voltron back together if they are still in space. 

“No” Keith whispers, shaking his head slowly. “I don't want to go back. Not yet.”

Lance raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Oh? Why not?”

Keith shrugs. “There is nothing for me on earth.” He says, hoping Lance will believe him. “And you're already here.” He adds hesitantly. 

Lance seems even more surprised at that and for a second Keith thinks he managed to fool him. “I don't believe you.” The blue paladin says. “But okay. We're not going back just yet.”

Keith tenses, almost expecting for Lance to lash out at him but the other smiles up at him softly, making the red paladin blush. “Lance! Quit looking at me like that.”

“Why?” Lance asks and pouts. “I see something I like.”

“You…” The words get stuck in Keith's throat. “How can you turn into a total maniac and still act like this?”

Lance smiles sweetly. “I told you I'm not being controlled. I'm not a clone or a robot either or whatever might pop up in that pretty head of yours. I'm me.”

“Only not really.” Keith whispers and steps away from Lance, pulling his hand out of the other's grasp with the motion. He leans against the wall and slides down to the floor, wrapping his arms around his knees. “Just go wherever you want.”

Lance turns in his chair to watch him, a frown on his face. “Keith…” But said paladin only lifts a hand, signaling that he wants to be left alone. 

They stay like that for a while. Keith sitting on the floor, staring at his feet, and Lance watching him silently. 

Until the blue paladin simply can't take it anymore. He jumps off his seat and quickly walks over to where Keith is sitting. “You're an idiot, mullet. Stop pouting. You kissed me back and you didn't blow my cover right away. What does that say about you? You're not the perfect, loyal paladin you pretend to be.”

Keith slowly lifts his head to look up at Lance, his eyes glassy. “Lance, just…”

“No! Judge me all you want but at least I'm not lying to myself. I just betrayed my friends. I am aware of that and I chose to do it. You, though? You're acting like the innocent victim here, but let me tell you something, you're not.” He takes a deep breath to calm down a bit. “I'm not asking you to accept all of this and be the Bonnie to my Clyde in an instant. All I ask of you is to figure out what you want.”

Keith laughs sarcastically at that. “And what if I want to get back to the others, fight the Galra und get the lions back?”

“No can do.” Lance says quickly and shakes his head. “I never said I'd play along once you figure it out but then I'll know how to treat you.”

“Wow” Keith deadpans, glaring at Lance. “You're treating me so well.”

“What can I say? I'm a gentleman.” 

“You're a dickhead, that's what you are.”

“What an insult!” The blue paladin gasps dramatically. “How will my self esteem ever recover from that?” He sinks to his knees in front of Keith and holds his chest in fake pain, lowering his head. When there's no response from the other, he blinks up at the raven sheepishly through his bangs. “I'm trying to lift the mood here. Work with me, man.”

Keith watches him with a blank expression. “I hate you.”

“Well, I love you.” Lance tells him with a smirk after dropping his facade. 

“Don't say that because I won't say it back.”

The other rolls his eyes and crawls forward to sit next to Keith. “I didn't say it for you to return it. I said it because I want you to know.” Keith watches his movement but quickly looks away at the words. “And I hate waiting.” Lance continues. “But if it's waiting for you, I'll wait.”

Keith stares at the opposite wall and tightens the grip on his knees. “Why didn't you ever tell me?”

“I never thought you'd like me back.” Lance says and shrugs. “I guess we just really suck at communicating.”

Keith bites his bottom lip in thought, hesitant to reveal anything about himself. 

“Keith, you look pretty tense.”

“I hated you back at the Garrison.” The red paladin suddenly blurts out. “You were so annoying.” He pauses briefly, glancing up at Lance. “When I was saving Shiro and you came in and I realized who you were…I was shocked.”

“Shocked? Why?”

“Because you used to be that dumb kid with the bad haircut who wouldn't stop talking and…and…”

Lance waits for him to continue and slowly starts to grin when Keith can't seem to find the right words. “Are you trying to tell me that I got hot?”

Keith’s eyes widen. “No! You just…” He lowers his head and sighs. “Yeah” 

Lance beams at that and slowly snakes an arm around the other's shoulders. “Don't worry. When I saw you that day, I was honestly so turned on. That's probably why I was acting like an ass.”

Keith flinches at the touch and blinks up at Lance. “What? Really?”

“Boy, don't you look into the mirror? I just…” Lance shakes his head to himself. “Your face, your hair, your freaking perfect ass.”

“I can't see that one in the mirror.”

Lance opens his mouth to continue rambly when Keith's words sink in. “Wait, did you just try to make a joke?”

“Yes. I must be going insane.”

“No! Keith! My man, my heart, my little hurricane. Please, joke all you want.”

“Little hurricane?”

“You're shorter than me and your temper is a hurricane. You better get used to the nicknames because I ain't stopping. Call it a gift.”

“I call it a curse.”

Lance suddenly throws himself forward and wraps both arms around Keith so his face is pressed into the blue paladin’s chest. “I freaking love you, okay? I’d kill whole civilizations just to hear you joke like that.”

Keith groans in his hold but doesn't try to back off for once. “Creepy.”

“Let's agree on romantic.”

Keith rolls his eyes and says nothing. It's not like arguing would do any good. Soon, Lance pulls back but keeps his hands on Keith's shoulder while observing his face. 

“What?” The red paladin asks, feeling his cheeks burn at the attention. 

“I just like looking at your face.” Lance says softly. “And you're like so naked in my head right now.”

Keith gasps and pushes the other away but Lance simply pouts and grabs his wrists. 

“Keith, just take it as a compliment.” 

“Fuck off. You tried to rape me once already.”

“Rape?” Lance frowns and tightens his grip to push Keith back until his back hits the floor, hovering above him. “I kinda gave you a choice, didn't I?”

“You told me you'd knock me out if you had to.” Keith hisses and grimaces when Lance holds his wrists above his head. 

Lance's eyes narrow, showing the same dangerous glint they held last time. “You're calling that rape? I was just trying to talk you into it. I can show you rape.” He smirks and moves to straddle Keith's hips. 

Keith’s eyes widen in shock and he tries to free his wrists desperately. “I thought you said you would wait!” He whines pathetically. 

Lance’s grin disappears and makes way for a pout. “Don’t be such a killjoy.” He says and leans closer so their noses are touching. “You might even enjoy yourself.”

“Lance…”

“Keith, you like me so what’s your problem?”

“My problem is that you’re…not you and I don’t know if I’ll regret this.”

Lance takes a deep breath and lifts his head to stare up at the ceiling in annoyance. “I refuse to talk about this again.”

“Well, I’m sorry that I can’t just ignore how you betrayed us. You betrayed Voltron, the whole universe!” Keith yells and kicks frantically. “How am I supposed to- ”

He is interrupted suddenly when Lance presses their lips together harshly. Keith whines and shuts his eyes tightly, desperately trying to ignore what’s going on. 

Lance lets go of his wrists to take Keith’s face into his hands while he slowly starts moving his lips. When Keith doesn’t react, he pulls back slightly and observes the other’s face. 

“Look at me, kitten.” He whispers and Keith slowly opens his eyes. “That’s it. Just calm down, okay?” He carefully runs a hand through those raven locks. “Try to let go.”

Keith shuts his eyes again and shakes his head quickly. “I can’t...the others…”

“Aren’t here.”

“Exactly! I can’t just act like everything’s fine while they might get tortured somewhere.”

“Since when do you care so much?” Lance deadpans. “Do you really think they worry about you? You’re an orphan, aren’t you? You should know that people pretend.” Keith opens his eyes again and slowly blinks up at Lance, his eyes glassy. “No one ever cared about you. No one ever wanted you.” Lance continues almost lovingly while running his fingers down Keith’s cheek. “I do though. I care. I want you.” He smiles. “Just let me love you, Keith.”

Keith stares at him as a tear escapes his eye. Usually, he would simply lash out at those words. Who does Lance think he is to say something like that?

He forces himself to stay calm though as he takes in Lance’s tiny smirk as the blue paladin keeps watching him. 

What options does he have? He could just keep pushing Lance away but that would probably get him nowhere. If Keith really wants to save the others somehow, he has to get away from Lance first and that won’t be happening anytime soon if he still shows his distrust so openly. 

Suddenly, an idea pops up in his head and his eyes widen slightly. Would Lance notice if Keith pretended to be into it and  not give a shit about what happened to Voltron and the universe? 

“You alright?” Lance asks and narrows his eyes. 

Keith swallows nervously and nods slowly while making his decision. “I’m good.”

“You seemed pretty deep in thought.”

The red paladin hesitates for a few seconds and the other is about to start talking again when Keith throws his arms up and around Lance’s neck, pulling him down towards him and connecting their lips. 

Lance gasps in shock and barely manages to catch himself with his hands beside Keith’s head before kissing back almost violently. Their noses brush together harshly and teeth clank together but neither of them minds. 

Eventually Keith parts his lips and Lance licks into his mouth hungrily while moving one hand to pull the raven’s hair, making the red paladin moan and scratch at Lance’s neck in return. 

As suddenly as it started, the kiss ends with Lance pulling back for air. His lips are swollen and he’s panting as he watches Keith with half-lidded eyes. 

“Is that what you wanted?” Keith gasps and licks his lips. 

Lance lets his eyes roam over the body under him and nods enthusiastically. “Hell yes.” He breathes and slides off Keith, only to grab him around the waist and pull him onto his lap, making the other whine in surprise and wrap his arms around the blue paladin quickly. “What’s with the sudden change of heart?” He laughs. 

Keith freezes and blinks at the other before forcing a shy smile and shrugging before quickly leaning in again. Lance smirks and does too, expecting another heated kiss but Keith keeps it slow and sweet.

Lance chuckles and leans back slightly, licking his lips as he takes in Keith’s flushed cheeks. “I like this.” He purrs and reaches around Keith to grab his behind roughly. “We should probably get out of our armor.”

Keith jumps and a sound similar to a squeak escapes him at the sudden touch. “I-I…” He stutters and bites his lip nervously before nodding. “Yeah”

Lance notices his hesitation and briefly thinks about asking Keith if this is okay for him, but he decides against it. Instead, he carefully reaches up to start removing Keith’s armor while the red paladin’s eyes are staring ahead absently. Lance throws the pieces aside and leans forward to lay Keith onto the floor again to remove the rest. 

“You're trying to get on my good side, huh?” Lance purrs as he finishes removing Keith's armor. The red paladin pushes himself up on his elbows and blinks at the other who is currently getting out of his own armor. 

“What?”

“I know you. You're currently doing whatever I want just so I let my guard down.”

“Lance… I don't…”

Suddenly Lance's face turns into an angry grimaces as he throws the last part of his armor to the floor. “Don't you dare lie to my face.” He hisses. 

Keith flinches back at the harsh tone. “I'm not lying.”

“Oh yeah? Because the Keith I know would fight til the very end, or well, at least he wouldn't give in that easily.” Lance hums with a strange smile on his face. 

Keith hesitates, observing Lance's face before dropping the facade. “Then why do you think you can break me?”

“Let's call it a challenge.”

“A challenge?”

“Exactly. And now, I challenge you to get out of your flight suit faster than me.” Lance laughs and Keith gapes at how quickly the blue paladin’s mood can change. 

“Fine” He hisses quietly and sits up to wriggle out of the dark material. 

Lance is faster though and cheers when he throws his suit into a corner, not only dressed in a pair of navy blue boxers. “I always wanted to do it in the blue lion, you know?”

“What does she think about this anyway?” Keith asks and looks over to the controls. 

“She doesn't have an opinion.”

“I highly doubt that.” 

Lance watches with a smirk as Keith kicks his suit aside. “I'm her paladin.” He says and shrugs. 

“That doesn't mean she'll go along with everything you do.” Keith looks away, glaring at the wall. 

Lance huffs and drops to the floor before reaching out to pull Keith closer again with his hands on the red paladin’s waist. “Honey, I love how persistent you can be and your pout is really cute but can we put this conversation on hold for now? I'd rather get to the part where we're naked and stuff.”

“You are such a pervert!” Keith groans and places his hands on the other's chest. 

“I can live with that title. Now would you stop talking? There are certain parts of me that demand your attention.”

Keith lowers his gaze and notices the prominent bulge in Lance's boxers “You're really not going to back off, huh?”

“Nope. Never.” Lance purrs. “I think you should suck it.”

Keith takes a deep breath. He needs to get Lance to trust him so this is the first step, right? He can do this. 

Lance narrows his eyes when Keith slowly gets off his lap while never breaking eye contact. The blue paladin watches the other sit down in front of him. 

“Get up.” Keith demands and Lance frowns briefly but a sudden glare makes him stumble to his feet. 

Keith gets on his knees and hooks his fingers in the hem of Lance’s boxers before pulling them down without warning. Lance gasps briefly and looks down just in time to see Keith grab the base of his cock almost harshly. 

“Hey! Careful!” He whines but Keith glares up at him again. 

“Shut up. You want me to blow you? Fine, but I’ll do it however I want.”

That makes Lance freeze. “As long as you don’t bite my dick off.”

“I can’t promise anything.”

Before Lance can start complaining again though, Keith leans forward and carefully wraps his lips around the head and quickly starts swirling his tongue around it. 

“Shit” Lance groans and Keith looks up at him as he hollows his cheeks and takes more in his mouth. 

Keith drops one of his hands to fondle Lance’s balls, drawing a moan from him in the process. 

“I knew you’d be good at this.” The blue paladin gasps and buries a hand in the raven’s hair. 

Keith pulls off briefly to lick along the underside before taking the whole length back in his mouth and bobbing his head. The fingers in his hair start to pull and he looks up to see Lance’s eyes shut and his lips parted. 

He keeps the rhythm for a few minutes, pulling off occasionally to lick his lips and watch Lance’s blissed-out face. 

“S-stop” Lance whispers eventually and fists Keith’s hair roughly to pull him up on his feet. “Coming down your throat sounds wonderful but I’d rather go all the way.” He says with a smirk and leans in to peck Keith’s lips softly. 

The red paladin wipes across his lips and swallows nervously. “Okay…”

Lance quickly pushes off his boxers all the way before pushing Keith into the wall and pressing against him. He smirks and strokes Keith’s side, moving his fingers up his body to trace his lips. “Since we got interrupted last time,” He says softly and presses three fingers between the other’s lips. “Would you mind?”

Keith hesitates for a second before leaning in and swirling his tongue around the digits messily. Lance watches with a satisfied grin before leaning in to kiss Keith’s neck. A shiver runs down the raven’s back and he shuts his eyes, wrapping his tongue around the fingers one last time. He pulls away and Lance bites down hard, making him whine in shock. 

“I love the noises you make.” Lance breathes and pulls back. “Boxers off.”

Keith avoids looking him in the eyes as he reaches down to push his underwear off and kicking them across the cockpit. “How would you like to do this?”

“Oh, don’t be so formal.” Lance laughs and grabs his shoulders to whirl him around, pressing his face into the wall. “How about this though?”

Keith grimaces and shuts his eyes. “Fine” He says through gritted teeth. 

Lance leans in to bite his earlobe. “Good boy” He purrs and roughly pushes a finger inside without warning. 

Keith groans at the intrusion and claws at the wall. 

“You either relax or it’s going to hurt. I can work with either.” The blue paladin says as he pushes the digit further inside. “As far as I remember, that douche from the Garrison told me you moaned like a whore. I don’t see it.”

Keith grits his teeth and glares at the wall in front of him before taking a deep breath and pressing back against the finger. 

Lance blinks in surprise and pulls it out, only to add another a second later. “That’s what I thought.” He purrs. 

Keith shuts his eyes and leans back into Lance while trying to image this happening under different circumstances. The fingers inside him start to spread and he winces softly before forcing his voice to work. “Come on. I can take it.” He whispers. “No need to hold back.”

The other laughs and adds a third finger, scissoring them and drawing a whimper from Keith in the process. “Alright, I’ll take your word for it.”

Keith bites his bottom lip to stay silent as the digits start moving in and out roughly. He mentally curses Lance’s stupid long fingers. 

“Enough” He gasps after a few minutes and reaches behind himself to take hold of Lance’s hand to stop him. The blue paladin slowly pulls his fingers out and watches as Keith reaches down to grab the base of his cock instead. “Get that in me already.”

Lance pushes his hand away and uses it to push Keith into the wall again. “What a change of heart.” He purrs and Keith feels the head poke at his entrance almost shyly. 

“Stop talking and do it.” He hisses, regretting it instantly when Lance pushes in all the way. 

Keith cries out as pain shoots up his spine. Lance doesn’t move and wraps his arms around him, gently pinching his nipples, drawing a gasp from him. 

“Relax” He whispers and starts kissing his neck again. “It’ll feel better soon.”

Keith nods slowly and tries to force his body to calm down. Eventually he looks over his shoulder at Lance and nods briefly. The blue paladin smiles and grabs Keith’s shoulder as he pulls out almost all the way before slamming in again, pushing Keith into the wall with the force. 

The raven’s mouth drops open in shock. He doesn’t know what feeling to concentrate on, the pain or the pleasure suddenly rushing through his body. 

Lance starts up a steady rhythm, somehow hitting that certain spot every time. He’s panting and mindlessly rubbing his hands all over Keith before settling a hand on his throat.

Keith bares his neck and moans when the fingers wrap around it loosely. He doesn’t know when the pain disappeared completely or why he kind of wants Lance to tighten the grip on his throat but in that moment, he doesn’t really care anyway. 

“Thought you’d be a kinky one.” Lance chuckles breathlessly as he starts pressing his fingers into the exposed skin of the raven’s neck. 

Keith shakes his head, pathetically trying to keep some of his dignity but he can’t help the strangled moan escaping him at the slight loss of breath and rough intrusion. 

“No need to be embarrassed.” Lance groans and grips Keith’s hips roughly with his free hand while still ramming into him. “Shit, you’re so tight.”

That’s what does it for Keith. Suddenly, he stops caring completely as he pushes back against Lance, his moans echoing through the cockpit. “Fuck, Lance.” He gasps and the fingers around his throat loosen their grip. “You…” He pauses and bites his lip. 

“Yeah?”

“Harder” Keith gasps eventually and Lance complies immediately, ramming forward with all  his strength and digging his fingers deeper into Keith’s hips, no doubt leaving bruises. 

“That’s it, kitten.” He purrs and starts tightening his fingers around the red paladin’s neck again. “Close” Keith nods breathlessly and slowly drops a hand to wrap around his cock but Lance pushes him away. “No, I want you to come like this.”

Keith whines pathetically and greedily rocks back against the other. The constant feeling of Lance’s cock hitting his sweet spot suddenly is too much and his knees start to shake. Lance stops his rough antics to wrap both arms around him to hold him upright as he fucks into him a few more times before moaning softly and leaning in to bite Keith’s shoulder as he comes. 

Keith swears he can feel it as he is filled and somehow the thought brings him over the age as well. He cries out and slumps against the wall as his orgasm rips through him. 

Lance shudders behind him and whispers sweet nothings into his ears, stroking his hair lovingly. 

Once Keith comes down from his high, he is pulled against a warm chest and they slowly drop to the floor.

“That was amazing, babe.” Lance whispers and pushes his face into the other’s hair. 

Keith opens his eyes and turns his head to bury his face in Lance’s chest. “Don’t call me that.”

“Whatever you say, kitten.”

“Ugh”

Lance sighs and rests his chin on the red paladin’s head while stroking up and down his arm. “Don’t be so grumpy. You enjoyed it too.”

“Can you just be quiet, please?”

Lance chuckles and starts rocking them while humming softly. Somehow Keith actually manages to relax and not freak out. He shuts his eyes again and starts to fall asleep due to exhaustion quickly. 

After a while, Lance stops humming and looks down at the other to see he’s sound asleep and curled up adorably. He places a kiss on top of Keith’s head and looks up in time to see Blue drifting towards a nearby planet. 

“What are you doing, girl?” Lance asks quietly as to not wake Keith. A low growl echoes through the cockpit and the blue paladin’s eyes narrow. 

Apparently his lion has a limit after all. 


	7. Outlaws

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title song:  
> Outlaws by Breakaway
> 
> Whispers I didn't proofread again before posting so tell if me there are any major mistakes.  
> Also, tell me what you think should happen!

When Keith wakes up, the first thing he notices is the blanket thrown over him and the missing body heat of another person. He blinks sleepily as he reaches out to touch the material before looking around. 

“Lance?” He asks quietly and sits up, scratching his head. 

“Over here.” The other replies from the pilot’s seat. 

That’s when Keith notices the blue lion moving towards the surface of a planet. His eyes widen and he scrambles to his feet, rushing over to Lance and almost crashing into the back of his seat. 

“What’s happening?” He asks the blue paladin in panic. 

“I have no idea. Apparently blue decided that landing here is a good idea. She won’t let me steer.” Lance explains through gritted teeth while still trying to take control over the lion. 

Keith looks up again. The planet doesn’t look too dangerous and the blue lion is heading towards the surface slowly. They won’t crash but still. 

“It looks a lot like a desert planet.” Lance sighs and finally gives up, dropping his hands in his lap as he continues watching their journey to the ground. “I didn’t see any water but there is definitely at least one big forest. Blue won’t give me any details about it though.”

Keith narrows his eyes and stands up straight, pulling the blanket closer. “I knew she wouldn’t just accept your bullshit like that.”

Lance lifts his head and glares at the other. “Oh, so we’re back to being a little bitch. Great. I think I liked you better when you acted like a slut.”

“Shut up.” Keith hisses and turns around. “We should get ready. Do you have any supplies?”

Lance glances outside again before getting up and stepping towards Keith. “No, nothing.”

“You planned on kidnapping me and flying off into the unknown without any supplies?” Keith asks and shakes his head. “You’re definitely not being controlled. Only you can be this stupid.”

“Stop it or I’ll lay you over my knee.”

“As if.” Keith sends him a glare and drops the blanket, crossing his arms. “I’m still a better fighter than you and I doubt blue will let you summon your bayard anymore.”

Lance narrows his eyes and smirks. “We'll see about that.” He stretches his fingers, ready for the familiar weapon to appear in his hand but nothing happens. 

Keith chuckles at that. “Told you. Now, let's get dressed.” 

~ ~ ~ 

About twenty minutes later they are dressed and waiting for Blue to land. Unfortunately, they seem to land nowhere near the forest Lance mentioned earlier. Around them was just sand and a few rocks here and there. 

“Kinda familiar.” Keith whispers when Blue opens her mouth to let them out. The red paladin steps forward, carefully testing the ground before stepping away from the lion hesitantly. 

Lance watches him closely and follows hesitantly. “I wonder why she decided to bring us here.”

As soon as both of them are a few steps away from the blue lion, she shuts her mouth and raises herself up again. Both paladins whirl around and stare up at the lion in shock. 

“What the hell, Blue?” Lance yells and steps closer again. The lion ignores him as it crouches down before shooting up into the sky again. “Blue!” He looks after her in frustration.

Keith follows her with his eyes until she’s out of sight. “She just...left. I should’ve expected it.” He taps the side of his helmet. “I think the air here is breathable. The suit can’t make up for Pidge’s instruments but there’s at least nothing deadly in the atmosphere.” He hesitates before opening his visor.

Lance appears to ignore him but does so as well. He stands there for a few minutes, clenching his hands and glaring up at the sky. “Fine! We don’t need her.” He whirls around and grabs Keith’s arm. “We can do this on our own.”

Keith stumbles slightly when the blue paladin starts pulling him along into a random direction. “I wish we didn’t have to.”

“Shut up.”

“I will not shut up. Your lion just left us which means we are stranded on this planet we know nothing about. You can’t summon your bayard. I have my blade, which means that I kind of have the upper hand here.” Keith tells him matter-of-factly. His gaze drops to the arm still pulling him along forcefully. He contemplates pushing Lance away, but eventually decides against it. Yes, Keith might be the better fighter and he is the only one with a weapon but he doesn’t want Lance to be in a worse mood than he already is. That would end badly. 

Lance stares ahead aggressively, his jaw clenching every now and then. Keith swallows nervously, his gaze moving down to the hand grasping his arm. Without thinking about it too much, he carefully reaches out with his free hand to put it on top of the other’s. 

Lance’s head turns suddenly and his stare is intense when their eyes meet. “What are you doing?” He hisses. 

Keith lowers his gaze and slowly manages to pull the fingers away from his arm. “You’re so tense.” He says softly, eyes flickering up to Lance before he entangles their fingers.

Lance frowns down at their hands. “I’m tense?” He chuckles and shakes his head. “Sometimes I think you might be a bit bipolar. You change your mood like girls change their clothes.”

“Do you really expect me to be mentally stable in a situation like this?” Keith mumbles and slowly reaches out to take Lance’s other hand as well, carefully pulling him closer so they’re almost face-to-face. “Even though all of this is your fault, you’re all I have right now. Right?” He asks and looks up at Lance. 

Lance searches Keith’s face for a hint that the red paladin might be lying to appease him. When he finds none, he nods and lets go of Keith’s hands to wrap his arms around him instead. “Yeah, I’m all you have.” He whispers into Keith’s ear and kisses his temple before burying his face in the other’s neck. 

Keith nods briefly and loosely rests his hands on Lance’s back. They only have each other. No lion, no way to contact anyone, no food, no water. 

_ “Until you have no shelter but me.” _

The words echo through his head. Back when Lance got back from their mission and first started acting off, he told Keith about his plan, more than once.

Keith jerks back, pushing at Lance’s chest to bring some distance between them. The red paladin’s eyes are wide as he stares at the other. “You planned this.” He breathes. 

Lance blinks a few times before a confused grin spreads over his face. “Well, yes? I even told you what my plan was.”

Keith’s mouth drops open but no words come out. Yes, Lance told him. Then why…

“What are you doing to me?” He gasps but Lance’s attention is not on him anymore. 

“Keith” He says, staring at something behind Keith. “Look at that.”

Keith frowns, expecting for Lance to simply try and distract him but when the blue paladin’s gaze stays on whatever is behind him, Keith turns around to follow his sight. 

They are in the middle of a desert. At least that’s how it looked a minute ago. Now there was a forest in the distance, the bright green almost too bright to look at. 

“What the hell?” Keith mumbles but before he can react, Lance takes his hand and pulls him along. 

“Let’s check it out!” The blue paladin cheers as Keith, once again, stumbles after him. 

As they run through the sand, the forest seems to get bigger in front of them, like it’s still growing. Soon Keith can make out the colorful flowers between the trees and the fruits growing in them. They seem to change color each time he looks. 

“Lance, how is this possible?” He pants. “I don’t trust this. What if it’s just a hallucination? We don’t know what we’re breathing in right now. It might not be deadly but like I said, Pidge isn’t here and we...”

“Don’t be so negative.” Lance laughs and squeezes Keith’s hand reassuringly. 

Keith bites his lip nervously but remains silent as they keep getting closer. 

Once they reach the trees, Lance stops suddenly to look up at them. Keith falls against his side, the other’s arm instinctively wrapping around his waist as they take in the view. 

“The leaves are so bright. Almost like they’re glowing.” Keith whispers. “Lance, please. We should not go in there.”

Lance finally seems to have doubts. “But what else are we supposed to do?” He asks and looks down at Keith. “We might find water in there.”

“Lance…”

“We are going in.”

“No!”

“Yes”

Lance tightens his grip around Keith and slowly steps forward, pulling the red paladin along. Keith grimaces and shuts his eyes as they step between the trees. 

Suddenly, the air around them changes. It’s not as hot anymore and the faint smell of flowers surrounds them. The ground doesn’t sink under his feet anymore and he hears something like birds chirping. 

Slowly, he blinks his eyes open and gasps at the vivid colors blinding him. Huge petals grow out of tree trunks, bushes move on their own and that sweet smell changes slightly every time he takes a breath. 

Lance keeps dragging him along, ducking under branches and walking around flowers and other plants. Keith turns his head, looking back over his shoulder but the desert is gone, replaced by the seemingly never ending forest. 

“Lance, I don’t like this.” He whispers. “This is a trap. Please.”

“Keith, shut up.” Lance hisses. “Nothing bad happened yet.”

“Yet!”

“Would you calm down, please?”

Keith huffs and uses both hands to push Lance away from him, both of them stumbling back into the next tree. “Lance, this…” Keith stops when something in the trees behind Lance catches his attention. 

“What now?” Lance hisses and whirls around to follow Keith’s gaze. There, up in the trees are two bright eyes watching them. 

“Uh, what is that?” Keith asks and steps beside Lance. 

The blue paladin shrugs and takes a step towards said tree. The eyes blink at them, moving from Lance to Keith before the creature lets out a noise close to a chirp and jumps out of its hiding spot. 

Both paladins freeze as they stare at the creature. It’s small, around the side of a cat maybe. It has big round ears and huge bright eyes. Its body reminds of that of a small monkey, except for the wings hanging off its tiny arms and the long tail ending in a fluffy tip. Its fur is light blue and there are black tiger-like marks all over its body. 

“Okay, maybe you’re right. We are tripping.” Lance mumbles as they watch the small creature climb down the tree. It plops down on the forest floor before rushing closer to them.

Both of them stumble back in shock and the creature stops briefly before raising its arms and flapping the wings attached to them to fly closer again. 

“Do you think it’s dangerous?” Keith whispers and looks up at Lance. 

“No idea, but it likes you.”

Keith lowers his gaze and shrieks when the thing attaches itself to his leg, looking up at him with huge yellow-ish eyes. 

“Get off!” Keith hisses and shakes his leg slightly but the creature simply chirps and reattaches itself. 

“It definitely likes you. Should I be jealous?” Lance chuckles, making Keith roll his eyes. 

“Just get it off me.”

The blue paladin hums in amusement and crouches down to look at the thing. “Hey, little guy.” He says softly and holds his hand out. “Please don’t tell me you can spit poison or unhinge your jaw or anything.”

“Lance!”

“Just joking. I hope.” Lance laughs and moves his hand a bit closer to the creature. It blinks up at Keith again before turning its head like a freaking owl and looking at Lance’s hand. “There we go you tiny freak.” It hesitantly lets go of Keith’s leg and leans in to sniff Lance’s hand only to flinch back and sneeze. 

“Well, it doesn’t seem to like  _ you _ very much.” Keith says and crosses his arms. 

Lance huffs and leans back. He’s about to throw some kind of comeback at Keith when the color of the creature’s fur starts to change from bright blue to a dark red and the black markings start to move across its body like snakes. “The fuck…”

A shrill sound escapes the creature and both men groan and cover their ears. 

“Fuck! Lance! Get away from it!” Keith yells and steps between the creature and the blue paladin. 

Lance quickly stumbles to his feet and brings some distance between them. He watches as Keith leans down and hesitantly puts a hand on the thing’s head, making it look up at him with black eyes. Then, as if nothing happened, its fur changes back and the markings stop moving. Its eye color changes back and it chirps happily again as it nuzzles into the palm of Keith’s hand. 

“What the actual fuck?” Lance gasps. 

Keith starts petting the creature and looks up at Lance. “Either it doesn’t like you or it can sense that something’s wrong with you.” He says bitterly. “We’ve met aliens with psychic powers before.”

“It’s just some stupid cuddly freak. I don’t care about its opinion.” 

Keith ignores him and chuckles when the creature holds onto his hand to use it as a climbing tool. It holds onto the red paladin’s arm and uses its wings to fly up to his shoulder where it sits down happily. 

Lance narrows his eyes and stomps closer. “Get it off.” He barks. 

Keith gets to his feet again and turns away to shield the creature from Lance. “No”

“You said it yourself. We don’t know if it’s dangerous.”

“Apparently, it’s only dangerous when it’s around you so I suggest you keep your distance.”

Lance rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. “So what? You wanna keep it?”

Keith turns his head to look at the creature which almost looks like it’s smiling at him. “No but it might be able to help us.” He reaches up to pat its head. “Do you know where we can find some water?”

It blinks at Keith and chirps before nuzzling his cheek. 

“I doubt it understands what you’re saying.” Lance mumbles angrily. “Now get it off.”

“Fuck you, Lance.”

“Keith! Get that thing off your shoulder!”

“Why don’t you force me? You are pretty good at that.” Keith bites back and turns his back on Lance. 

“Don’t you dare! You enjoyed it too!”

Keith whirls around again, stepping closer to Lance until their noses are almost touching. “The guy I like wanted to sleep with me. There’s only so much control I have, okay? I didn’t want it to happen like that!”

“I knew you liked me all along!” Lance cheers and Keith gasps. 

“Are you for real now?”

But Lance just beams at him and, before Keith can move away again, grabs his hips and pulls him closer to place a harsh kiss on his lips. 

Keith moans out of surprise and pulls back quickly. “You fucking prick!”

“You like me!”

“I fucking hate you!”

A noise interrupts them and when Keith looks down at his shoulder, the creature is letting out a quiet chirp as its fur changes yet again. This time it turns a dark violet and the markings turn silver as they start moving. Its eyes are suddenly bright red as they flicker from Keith to Lance. 

“Is that good or bad?” Lance asks nervously. “You should really get it off you.”

Keith slowly reaches up to touch it while the creature doesn’t move at all. 

“Don’t touch him.”

Both paladins freeze and look into the direction of the voice. A pair of bright white eyes watches them from the trunk of a tree as a body slowly starts to pull itself out of it, taking the form of a woman right in front of them. 

Her skin is somewhere between dark green and blue, constantly changing color. It looks like she’s covered in scales and some parts of her body are wrapped in huge leaves. Her hair is seemingly moving on its own, the long silver locks wrapping around branches that grow from her head. 

Her feet barely touch the ground as she steps closer to them. Both of them stand there frozen as they stare at the alien. 

Eventually she stops in front of Keith, towering over him like a queen. That’s when Lance snaps out of it and quickly dashes forward. “Get away from him!” He hisses but the woman simply raises a hand and the blue paladin freezes. 

Keith glances at him and his eyes widen. “What did you do to him?” He barks and glares up at the woman. 

She blinks at him and slowly reaches out. Keith flinches when her long fingers move through his hair before wrapping around the creature on his shoulder. She takes it into her arms gently, almost like a mother would their child. “He took quite a liking to you.” She says softly and her strange white eyes lock with Keith’s. “I can see why.”

Keith glances at Lance again, who is still frozen in place as roots start to wrap around his legs. “What is this place?” He asks and looks up at the alien again. “Who are you? What is that creature?”

The woman tilts her head to the side and narrows her eyes at Keith. “So many questions.” She purrs and legs go of the creature only for it to jump over to Keith, settling down on his shoulder again. “Since you came into my reign, I think it is only fair if you answer my questions first.” She adds and holds one hand up again. 

Keith opens his mouth to tell her about Voltron, that they are paladins who crashed and need help. Before he can even make a sound, his eyes widen as he watches the alien’s palm burst open and at least a dozen tiny roots slither out like worms. They move through the air and Keith watches them in fascination until they stop and turn towards him. 

“What…” He gasps but the roots are rushing towards him and he screams and then everything turns black. 


	8. Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title song:  
> Wrong by MAX, Lil Uzi Vert

Keith’s mind feels foggy when he slowly starts to regain consciousness. He groans and turns onto his side, only for his face to touch something fuzzy. He hears a chirp and opens his eyes, looking right into a huge pair of yellow ones.

“Oh shit!” He gasps and sits up. Strangely, he doesn’t hurt anywhere like the last times he woke up after getting knocked out.

Wait, what happened?

He turns his head and looks at the creature that’s blinking up at him innocently.

“You’re still here, huh?” Keith says softly and holds his hand out for the little guy. The creature chirps happily and wraps its tiny body around his hand. Keith smiles softly at that before taking in his surroundings.

Around him, branches and roots are forming some kind of tent. Sunlight is shining through the cracks and he holds his free hand up so one of the rays hits his hand, warming his skin. He looks at it for a few seconds before dropping his hand, following it with his gaze as it hits a bed of flowers underneath him, all of them bright red.

“She didn’t hurt me.” He mumbles and looks at the creature holding onto his hand again. It nuzzles his palm and a sound close to a purr escapes it. “I hate to admit it but you’re really cute.”

The creature looks up at him again and starts squeaking, its tail flapping around enthusiastically.

“You need a name.” Keith sighs and starts scratching behind its ear. “That alien called you a he so what about…” He hums in thought and carefully picks it up to look it over while it keeps making happy noises. “Kosmo”

Kosmo hesitates briefly before making tiny grabby hands at Keith’s face.

“Okay, stop it or I might die. You’re too adorable.”

Suddenly, the branches over Keith’s head start to move apart and he flinches in shock, accidently dropping Kosmo who simply curls up in his lap. Above him, the alien woman watches him intently.

“We call it a haada.” She says and glances at Kosmo who yawns adorably. “He never left your side, red paladin.”

Keith gasps and attempts to get up, only for the creature in his lap to protest loudly. “How do you know that title?”

“Like I said, I wanted you to answer my questions first, which you did.” She explains and turns.

Keith blinks at her back and picks up Kosmo before getting up. Only then does he notice that his armour and flight suit are gone. Instead it looks like bark is wrapped around his chest, as well as his hips and the same red flowers that made up his bed make up the rest of his outfit, similar to a dress.

“Uh, where is my armor?” He asks and uses one hand to cover himself but thankfully, the bark is also covering that part. In his other hand Kosmo lets out something close to a snicker.

“I do not see the need for that kind of attire.” The alien says.

Keith stands up and Kosmo crawls up onto his shoulder again. “Okay, fine. You said I answered your questions. I don’t remember doing that.”

“I don’t need your consent to look into your mind.” She huffs. “I did the same with your companion.”

“Lance?” Keith looks around briefly. They are still in the middle of the forest but his flower bed is in the middle of a small clearing. “Where is he?”

The alien whirls around and looks down at him. “First, I would like to answer your questions. My name is Meza and I am the last of the Garics. I already told you that the creature on your shoulder is a haada.”

“Okay, Meza. My name is Keith.” He rolls his eyes at himself at how dumb he sounds. “You probably already know that.”

“I do, indeed.”

“Is this your planet?” He asks.

She nods. “We called it Garicu.”

“And what happened to it? You said you’re the last one.”

“You already know the answer to that one. The Galra came and took everything and everyone.” She tells him seriously. “My people have the ability to combine nature and living organisms so they decided that one of us was to stay in hiding to build it back up.”

Keith nods slowly. “And you were the one to do so?”

She simply nods. “I understand you are also part Galra.”

“Yes” He says quietly and averts his gaze. “But that doesn’t mean I’m like them.”

“I know. I just never met one without them wanting to destroy everything in their way. You are different. That’s probably why the haada took such a liking to you.”

Keith smiles sadly and turns his head to look at Kosmo, who chirps and rubs his tiny nose against his neck. “I named him Kosmo.”

“You gave the haada a name?”

Keith looks up at her nervously. “Yes? Is that bad?”

She watches him intently for a while before shaking her head. “No, not at all.”

He lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and pets Kosmo’s head. “So where is Lance?”

Meza tilts her head to the side and watches the movement of his hand. “I made sure he wouldn’t come back to his senses so soon. I wanted to talk to you first. I saw what happened to you. I never heard of Voltron before but I understand the mission behind it. Your companion did something you believe to be wrong.”

Keith drops his hand and Kosmo whines quietly. “Well, yes. He pretty much handed our friends over to the Galra.”

“Which is something you think to be not right.”

“Obviously.” He sighs and rubs the back of his head. “I just...they did something to him. By now I’m pretty sure that he’s not being controlled but he’s...he has no boundaries. No sense of right and wrong.”

“You are his prisoner?”

That question surprises Keith and he raises his gaze to look at Meza, who is watching him closely for a reaction.

“I...I don’t know. He’s still my friend just...darker.” He whispers.

“Then tell me, Keith, why did you connect with him if you think his behavior is wrong? I do not understand.”

He frowns at that. “Connect?”

“Yes, I believe other races call it mating.”

“Oh…” Keith feels himself blush and looks away, focusing on one of the trees. “That was just...I have no idea.”

Meza is still watching him, waiting for him to continue apparently. When he doesn’t, she hums and slowly raises a hand to Keith’s face, who tries to lean away but Kosmo chirps into his ear as if to calm him. “You need to understand, I am not only in touch with nature but with the very core of energy. Every living creature has a certain energy running through them. It’s all connected. The body is connected to the energy, which can connect to other forces, as well as nature.” Her hand comes to rest against Keith’s forehead. It feels cold to the touch and he doesn’t know if it feels good or bad. “Certain races exchange some of that energy when they connect but it can also be a place of high energy that forms the connection.”

Keith blinks up at her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She hums and her hand suddenly feels warmer against Keith’s skin, like it starts to mimik his own temperature. Or is it really his temperature? The feeling starts to spread and soon it seems like the warm feeling is running through his body alongside the blood in his veins.

“Galra mate for life, Keith.” Meza says softly. “And while you are only half of one, that doesn’t change the fact that your energy is now connected to his. The bond is weak but its there.”

Keith’s eyes widen at that and he quickly pushes her hand away, making the warm rush stop suddenly. “That’s bullshit.” He hisses and takes a step back “I’ve slept with people before.”

“While that might be true, your connection didn’t happen on your home planet, which is a place with a rather weak energy core. Exchanging energy there is almost impossible.”

“Why are you even telling me this?” Keith breathes and wraps his arms around himself, suddenly feeling weak and cold.

“I share my energy with this forest. It is what I live for.” She explains, spreading her arms. “I managed to build up a lot of it with barely anything to start with but at some point, it just refuses to keep growing.” Meza points at Kosmo. “Your haada. I knew of the eggs in the trees, but there was nothing that could get them to hatch. Your energy did that and it’s barely moving at all.”

“My energy made him hatch?” Keith asks and looks at Kosmo again who appears to be sleeping nuzzled into his neck.

“Indeed. This forest has so much potential to grow but the energy is frozen, asleep. We need to wake it. Land can stand still and live but something new is made once there is an earthquake. Do you understand?”

“I think I do but…” Keith narrows his eyes and hesitates. “What do you want me to do?”

“The core of it all needs to start exchanging its energy with the rest again. You could wake the flow by connecting with the blue paladin.”

Keith freezes as he looks at her. “Connect as in...mate.”

“Exactly” Meza nods and for the first time since they met her, she smiles. “I am not lying when I’m telling you that it will only benefit you as well.”

Keith stands there frozen for at least a minute, staring at the ground before he starts shaking his head. “No, sorry. I can’t do that.”

Meza’s smile disappears. “Why? You did it before.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ll do it again.”

“But…” Her white eyes search Keith’s face desperately. “I thought you wanted to help those hurt by the Galra.”

“And I do but not like this.”

“What makes this any different?” She asks harshly, her voice echoing through the trees. On top of her head, the branches start to grow threateningly. “You let him have you in that ship. He didn’t even have to court you. All of that and you still doubt what he is to you. Your mind is filled with insecurities and doubts. I’m giving you a decision.”

“That was a mistake, okay?” Keith hisses.

“Such a thing cannot be taken back. You are still pretending to be on Voltron’s side, wanting to help your people. In reality, you’re just like him, fighting for yourself. Why are you here with him? I’ve seen what kind of fighter you are. You could’ve taken him out if you really wanted it. Why didn’t you? Why didn’t you make a decision when it mattered?”

She keeps stepping closer, growing in height. Her eyes are turning dark and her voice is getting deeper with every word. Keith steps back, staring up at her with wide eyes.

“I don’t know.” He whispers frantically. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Meza suddenly stops, her face turning emotionless. “You may have the agility and knowledge but you are no fighter. Inside, you are nothing more than a hurt creature wanting to belong. I gave you that option but if you don’t want it, I can also just take your energy.”

“My energy?”

She nods and looks around again. “How do you think this forest started to grow in the first place? After the Galra first attacked, they came back with a ship filled with slaves.” She slowly leans down to glare at Keith who can’t keep a whimper from escaping. “I sucked them dry. Every tree, every flower once was one of them.”

Keith feels himself starting to shake. “No...you...you killed them?”

“It was for the greater good. What are a few lives to me?” She holds her hand out towards a plant wrapped around a tree and the leaves move closer to her as she pets them lovingly. “Galra or not, I don’t care. The universe took my planet from me and I’m going to get it back.” She drops her hand suddenly and smiles at Keith. “Now, your energy will surely turn into such beautiful flowers.” She purrs and raises her hand again, this time to touch Keith.

He jumps back, instinct finally kicking in as he starts to run, pushing branches and leaves aside. On his shoulder, Kosmo whines at the movement and Keith glares at him. “Are you in on this too?” He hisses but the creature simply blinks at him without understanding.

“This forest is my energy. It is me. You cannot hide.” Meza’s voice echoes behind him and he forces his legs to run faster.

“I need to find Lance.” He gasps as he almost crashes into a tree, barely managing to steer around it. “And then we need...fuck! Blue is gone!” He cries in frustration.

Keep going!

Keep going!

Think!

Where is Lance?

Meza said their energy is connected, right? Maybe he can use that somehow. But how?

“Shit!” Keith cries out when he stumbles over a root hidden by the moss on the ground. He falls flat onto his face and grimaces at the pain shooting up his leg. No, not the right time to be hurt.

Slowly, he forces himself into a sitting position before crawling over to a large bush. He pushes some leaves aside and lets himself fall between them.

“Okay” He breathes as Kosmo slides down his arm and into his lap, looking up at him questioningly. “How do I find him?”

The creature watches him and shakes his head. Keith stares when Kosmo’s fur changes to the dark red it took when Lance first tried to interact with him.

“Yes! Exactly! Can you find him?” Keith asks desperately.

Kosmo squeaks and his eyes turn black while the markings on his fur start to move. This time, he doesn’t make that shrill sound again. The creature spreads its wings and rushes up into the air, chirping down at Keith, who quickly gets to his feet.

He grimaces when his leg still hurts but decides that he can’t acknowledge it. Not until he found Lance and they managed to get out of that forest.

They climb out of the bush and Kosmo quickly starts flying through the trees. Keith smiles and rushes after him. His smile fades quickly though when he feels the ground shake underneath him. “Fuck! Kosmo! Hurry!” He yells and Kosmo flaps his wings faster, gliding through the air like a tiny falcon.

It doesn’t take them long to reach another small clearing. Keith almost falls once again when another thick root appears in front of him but he manages to jump across it. He pants and glares at it before taking in his surroundings.

Kosmo landed on top of a large rock in the centre of the clearing. Keith looks over his shoulder briefly and rushes towards it. Once he gets closer he notices that it’s not just a rock, but more the entrance to a small cave slightly hidden beneath it.

He falls to his knees and looks inside. “Lance?” He calls and waits.

When he doesn’t hear anything, he’s ready to crawl in there himself but then something comes closer in the darkness of the cave. At first, Keith wants to get up and start running again but then he realizes that it’s a human hand reaching out so he quickly reaches inside and takes hold of it before pulling with all his strength.

Slowly, a head rises out of the dirty hole, followed by the body of a certain blue paladin. Keith pulls one last time and Lance manages to heave himself out of it.

Both of them are panting as they sit in the glowing grass. Keith briefly takes in the other’s appearance. He’s covered in dirt and dressed similar to Keith, only that instead of flowers, tendrils are wrapped around his body from head to toe.

“Keith...what happened?” Lance pants.

Keith doesn’t answer. Instead, he jumps forward and wraps his arms around the blue paladin. “I found you!” He cries and buries his face in Lance’s neck.

Lance chuckles and pats Keith’s back. “You did. Now what about an explanation?”

“No time!” Keith says quickly and sits back, looking up at Lance intently. “We need to get out of here.”

“What? How? Blue is gone.”

“I know. The forest. We need to get out of the forest.”

“Why?”

“Meza, the alien. She…”

Keith stops and frowns. Something seems off. He slowly turns his head to look over his shoulder into the direction where he thinks the alien should appear soon.

There’s no noise, no shaking ground.

Nothing.

“Keith?” Lance asks. “What’s wrong? What did she do?”

Keith gets up and whirls around. “She...she was coming after me.”

Lance does so as well, blinking briefly at Keith’s outfit before looking down at himself. “Then it seems like she stopped, which is good?”

“No…” The red paladin shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s good at all.”

Behind them, Kosmo lets out a shrill cry before jumping into the air and disappearing into the forest. Keith looks after him sadly and takes a step closer to Lance.

Both jump in surprise when the ground vibrates, but instead of Meza appearing, a bunch of flowers push their way through the earth. They open up immediately, their petals growing until they are the size of a head.

“Okay, this is freaking me out.” Lance mumbles and wraps an arm around Keith’s waist, who doesn’t even complain. He’s too busy watching in horror as spores start to emit from the flowers.

“Hold your breath.” He tells Lance and pathetically covers his nose with his hands. “Don’t breathe it in.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to work.”

“Then we need to run.” Keith hisses and starts pulling Lance into the direction of the trees quickly. They jump across the flowers that only blow more spores into the air so it hits them head-on.

“Fuck!” Keith groans as he catches himself taking a breath. “Don’t stop. Run!”

He grabs Lance’s hand and starts running while pulling the other along. It doesn’t last long through until both of them start to slow down, panting heavily.

“What...what was that stuff?” Lance asks as he leans against a tree. “I feel...strange.”

Keith slides to the ground, burying his hands in the moss as he tries to focus. His head feels surprisingly light while his body seems to heat up. “We...we need to...get out…”

They stay like that for a minute or two but it feels like hours until Lance pushes himself away from the tree, his gaze fixed on the other.

Keith looks up at him, his pupils blown. He slowly pushes himself to his feet, the pain in his leg seemingly forgotten as he steps towards Lance, who grabs the back of Keith’s head to pull him in for a kiss as soon as he’s within reach.

The hand buried in Keith's hair tightens, drawing a moan from him as he's backed up against a tree, their lips still connected.

Lance drops his hand and lets it slide down Keith's chest where the bark falls away as if activated through touch. Keith pulls back, his lips swollen as he leans his head back while blinking up at the trees lazily.

“Lance…” He groans weakly. His mind feels so blissfully empty so why does he want it to stop?

This isn't right.

Lance leans in to bury his face in Keith's neck, roughly biting the skin there and drawing a moan from the red paladin.

This feels good.

But…

“Lance, we need to stop.” Keith slurs and reaches up to put his hands on Lance's chest in a weak attempt to push him away.

“Shut up.” Lance growls as his hand slides lower to touch the rest of Keith's plant gown so it falls away.

“This isn't right. We can't…”

“We can.” Lance growls and wraps his hand around Keith, who's already hard. “We can do whatever we want.”

Keith whines and shuts his eyes briefly. “No, that's what she wants.”

“Will it hurt us?”

“No” Keith shakes his head and lets out a whimper. “But…I…”

“What, Keith?” Lance asks almost softly as he starts stroking, drawing a soft moan from the red paladin.

“Galra mate for life.” He cries, a tear escaping his eye. “I can't.”

“We already did it.” Lance huffs as he attempts to pull his own make-shift clothing off.

“The energy here is different.”

“Whatever that means.” Lance mumbles as he rips the bark off his chest and the tendrils slowly fall away.

“We don’t know what it’ll do to us.” Keith pleads but Lance leans in again and silences him with another kiss. Keith sobs into it but pushes his hips forward instinctively.

Lance pulls back and smirks. He lets go of Keith’s member and grabs his arms instead, turning them around so his own back is against the tree. “That’s it.” He purrs and pushes Keith back so he falls onto the moss floor of the forest.

For once Keith doesn’t hit his head and lets it sink into the soft green pillow. Within the blink of an eye Lance is above him and pushes his face into the red paladin’s neck again, biting the same spot again. Keith whimpers, his mind still screaming at him that this will have consequences and they should stop but his body refuses to cooperate.

Lance pulls back and looks down at Keith with dark eyes. “I love you.” He whispers. Keith blinks up at him, searching his face for that spark of darkness he got used to way too quickly but the other’s expression is soft.

While Keith is distracted, Lance slowly slides a hand down his body, grabbing one of the red paladin’s legs to make room for his own hips. Lance grabs his own member and slowly positions himself.

Keith blinks a few times as he realizes what’s going on. He shakes his head at Lance but his legs spread anyway. “Lance, no…”

But the blue paladin is already pushing in. Keith expects it to hurt but all he feels is pleasure when his sweet spot is hit dead on. He moans and his eyes fall shut.

Why doesn’t it hurt?

It has to be the spores.

Lance smiles and pulls out, only to slam in again, leaning in to nibble at Keith’s bottom lip. Keith groans as a shock runs through his body and he leans up to connect their lips.

Slowly, all his doubts fade away, disappearing in the fog in the back of his mind.

All he can focus on is Lance. The way their bodies are touching in all the right places. Lance sucking on his tongue and running his hands all over Keith’s chest and arms while his hips find a rough rhythm.

Lance’s hands keep wandering until they reach Keith’s hands. He takes them and brings them up so they are resting beside the red paladin’s head. How Lance is holding himself up, Keith doesn’t know.

“Keith” Lance gasps as he squeezes Keith’s hands. “Say you love me.”

Keith’s eyes focus on Lance’s face, on the desperate expression he’s wearing. Another sharp thrust has Keith moaning and throwing his head back, only for Lance to let go of one of his hands to grab his head, forcing Keith to face him again.

“Say it.” He demands, followed by another deep thrust.

Keith whimpers and lifts his head, chasing Lance’s lips with his own but the blue paladin leans away, making Keith cry out in frustration. “Lance…” He whines and turns his head away.

Lance squeezes Keith’s hand harder and slides his other hand down to wrap his fingers lightly around the raven’s neck. “Say it.”

Keith weakly pushes at Lance’s chest with his free hand but the other keeps moving, pushing in deep and hitting his spot every time. It’s almost too much. “I…” Keith swallows and turns his head to look up at Lance who is watching him closely while he’s panting. “I love you.”

Lance smiles and puts more pressure on Keith’s neck before moving his hand down to the red paladin’s member. He starts stroking and Keith cries out as he comes almost immediately. He throws his head back and shuts his eyes tightly, his mouth hanging open as pleasure shoots through his body.

Lance comes soon after when Keith starts clenching around him. He drops his head against the other’s shoulder and lets out a low moan as his rhythm falters and eventually stops completely.

Keith slowly opens his eyes when his orgasm makes way for a different feeling. It’s like a wave of electricity rushes through his veins. Slowly, the strange sensation moves through his body and eventually settles underneath the skin where Lance is touching him.

The blue paladin pulls out and pushes himself up with his arms beside Keith’s head, blinking down at him. “Keith, do you feel that too?”

Keith’s eyes widen. “Yes” He observes Lance’s face. “You do too?”

Lance nods and slowly sits back, grabbing Keith’s arms along the way to pull him along and against his chest. “The spores…”

“This has nothing to do with them.” Keith whispers as he curls up against the other, looking around in paranoia. “They just made us...horny.”

“You said the alien wanted us to have sex. Explain.” Lance demands and tightens his grip around Keith.

“Something about this place’s energy. Meza is the last of her people after the Galra killed them all and turned their planet into a desert so she wants to build it back up. Apparently, the core of energy stopped moving or flowing or whatever so she wanted us to start it back up.”

Lance looks down at him and frowns. “I don’t get it.”

“She said my energy made Kosmo hatch. That’s the tiny creature.” Keith swallows nervously. “What she calls energy is probably the same as quintessence. Anyway, since Galra mate for life, their energy connects when they have sex. The connection we formed last time was weak but this place is different so it’s possible to form a stronger bond which would probably be able to get the energy in the forest flowing again.”

Lance gasps and looks up at the sound of footsteps. Keith doesn’t bother and just shuts his eyes. Somehow he doesn’t feel the need to pay attention as long as Lance is there. He grimaces at that thought. So the bond is already affecting him.

“You did it!” Meza announces as she steps towards them.

“Meza, I take it.” Lance says and tries to wrap himself around Keith more to shield him from view. “Keith told me what you wanted us to do.”

“Yes” She nods. “I tried to reason with him but he refused to listen so I had to threaten him. I would’ve taken his energy but that won’t be necessary anymore. Look.” She points at the spot on the ground where they just lay. A bed of colorful flowers is blooming there, spreading across the forest floor. “You woke the energy.”

Lance glances at the flowers briefly before glaring up at the alien. “You threatened him?”

Meza crouches down and lovingly runs her hand through the bed of flowers. “I had to. It was either this or taking his energy. I had to save what is most important to me.” She raises her gaze, her eyes narrowing slightly as she locks eyes with Lance. “I’m sure you understand.”

“I don’t give a fuck about your forest.” He hisses.

“I do not see you complaining.” Meza chuckles as she gets up again, nodding towards Keith. “After all, you got what you wanted. He is yours.”

“He was already mine.”

“Only in your mind.” The alien says harshly. “Now he doesn’t have a choice but to stay with you.”

Lance clenches his teeth and looks down at Keith who is blinking at their surroundings lazily, seemingly oblivious to their conversation. “What does that connection do?” Lance asks without looking up.

Meza hums. “How strongly it affects him depends on his Galra side. While I am no expert, I do know that there are usually two different sides to a bond. I do not know what they are called but one part of the bond is usually weaker and more prone to fall sick in the absence of the other.” She steps closer and crouches down in front of them. “Galra don’t care about gender. Their genes changed in the last few centuries to adjust their bodies to their needs which means that the weaker part is most likely to become the breeder.” She reaches out and places her palm on Keith’s back.

“What are you doing?” Lance hisses and quickly slaps her hand away. “Don’t touch him.”

“Half-breeds usually aren’t able to go through those changes. It’s the same with him. His body can’t change.” She says softly and gets up again, ignoring Lance lashing out at her.

Lance follows her with his eyes. “Keith isn’t weak.”

“I never said he was.” Meza tells him and steps back. “But his behavior will change, especially around you. It might be hard on him for a while so, knowing your way of treating him from looking into your mind, I want to kindly ask you to be careful. You have him. No need to lash out or hurt him anymore.”

Lance huffs and smirks up at her. “Why should I listen to you after you just wanted to kill him? How come you’re suddenly so concerned about him?”

“He might be a fighter but his mind is weak and filled with doubts. He just helped me, so I want to return the favor.”

“And what about me?”

“Your mind is limited. You aren’t easy to talk to.”

Lance rolls his eyes and huffs. “Where is our armor and his blade? We are leaving.”

Meza watches him, her gaze intense. The silence is broken when a loud chirp erupts from the trees before Kosmo lands on the bed of flowers. The creature blinks at the floor and slowly shuffles closer to the two paladins, its tiny body wrapped around Keith’s blade.

Lance looks down at him. “You again.” He mumbles. “He called you Kosmo, right?”

Kosmo squeaks and blinks up at him before carefully placing the blade on the ground. His ears twitch as his huge yellow eyes take in Keith’s body. Slowly, the creature’s eyes change their color to red, then to black and back to yellow again.

“He is confused. The flow of energy in the red paladin’s body changed.” Meza explains.

Kosmo squeaks again and reaches one tiny hand up towards Keith.

“Is he dangerous?” Lance asks as he shifts Keith’s body so Kosmo can’t reach him.

“Haada are not dangerous. They are rather affectionate though. Also, they can change form in certain situations or when they’re exposed to strong auras.”

“Haada?” Lance asks as he raises his eyebrows at Kosmo who is making grabby hands at Keith. “That sounds similar to the spanish word for fairy.”

Meza tilts her head to the side in question as she watches the scene interestedly. “What are your plans? You are stranded here, am I right?”

Lance’s face falls and he swallows before nodding. “Pretty much. Blue...my ship is gone.”

“I know about your lion. Like I mentioned earlier, I looked into both your minds.”

“Rude” Lance huffs.

“May I offer a solution?”

“Which would be?” He narrows his eyes, not sure if he is ready to trust her just yet.

“A Galra ship landed here a long time ago. I don’t know what shape it’s in but it might be useful.” She pauses briefly as she thinks. “But maybe you want to wait until you go there. After all, this might be your first chance to really get him to trust you.”

Lance sighs and leans forward so Kosmo can jump up onto Keith’s shoulder where he curls up happily. The blue paladin watches the creature and his jaw tenses. “What are you suggesting?”

“I do not judge your behavior, Lance. My race has no understanding of good and bad. Up until now, what you did was frowned upon. Here, there is no one chasing you. The war doesn’t come here anymore. It might be an opportunity for him to forget about it.”

“No matter what that strange bond does, Keith isn’t one to simply forget about something like that.”

“What if I can help with that?”

Lance looks up at that. “What?”

Meza steps over to a bush and holds her hand out. The leaves move aside and a bright red fruit grows towards her. “There are all kinds of berries and fruits in this forest. Some would affect one in a certain way if eaten.” She glances at Lance and something dark flashes in her eyes briefly. “This one affects one’s memory. Not for long though so he would have to eat it regularly.”

Lance’s mouth opens and closes in surprise. He looks down at Keith who seems to have fallen asleep at some point, his face turned towards Lance’s chest. “You want me to fuck with his memory so he’s more cooperative?”

Meza shrugs. “It’s up to you. I am simply giving you a choice.”

Lance runs a hand through Keith’s hair as he thinks. Kosmo lifts his head and blinks up at him, his eyes turning black as he whines pathetically. Lance glances at him before smiling up at Meza. “I like your way of thinking.”


	9. Brainwash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title song:  
> Brainwash by Simon Curtis
> 
> \---
> 
> I'm so sorry it took me so long to update but I just started a new job and I still have a lot of stuff to learn and I just can't find the time to write.   
> Also, I know this chapter is rather short. That's firstly because it just fit better with the pace to make another cut, but also so I don't have to post everything I have written (it's not that much ugh).   
> So yeah, no idea how long it'll take me to update again. SOWWY!
> 
> Still, enjoy!

Keith is panting as he pushes branches out of the way and barely manages to jump across a small bush. His legs hurt and his lungs burn. 

He dares to look back over his shoulder but he can’t make out anything. Maybe they gave up?

When a rather huge tree comes into view, Keith slides behind it an presses his back against it. He reaches up to cover his mouth so no sound can escape him to give away his location. 

Seconds pass and turn into minutes and eventually his breathing calms down. He drops his hand and turns around to look past the tree. 

He isn’t prepared when something slams against his back and arms wrap around him. 

“Found you.” A voice purrs into his ear before he is turning to face the other. 

“Lance! That’s not fair! You’re cheating!” Keith whines as he puts his hands on Lance’s chest to push him away but the blue paladin chuckles and presses Keith against the tree, wasting no time as he leans in and places a kiss on his lips. 

“I just always know where to find you.” Lance whispers lovingly after pulling back. 

Keith rolls his eyes but lets himself be pulled into a tight embrace. “Still, I think you’re cheating.”

In a way, Keith is right. Lance can’t say he is able to feel their bond but he noticed rather quickly that he gained a new instinct. Somehow he always knows where to find Keith. He just has to close his eyes and start walking and eventually, his new sense will find the red paladin.

“Maybe you just suck at hiding.” Lance laughs and reaches out to stroke a few wild locks of dark hair out of Keith’s face. 

“You know that’s a lie.” Keith says with a pout but tilts his face into Lance’s hand anyway. “I’m hungry now.”

Lance smiles and shakes his head. “You just ate before we started playing. How are you hungry all the time?”

“No idea.” Keith shrugs and blinks his eyes up at Lance innocently. “But I want food. Now.”

Lance sighs dramatically and pulls his hand back to slide both arms under Keith’s body to lift him up. “Your wish is my command, princess.”

Keith throws his head back and giggles, the sound echoing through the trees. Lance beams down at him. 

It must’ve been weeks ago that Lance first let Meza hand one of the bright red fruits to Keith while he was still disoriented. It didn’t really make him forget, instead it seemed to suppress the memory as long as it is not mentioned to him. After the first fruit, his eyes looked empty when he looked at Lance but as soon as Lance told him who he was, bits and pieces came back to him. 

“Keith, are you okay?” Lance asked as he crouched in front of the other, observing his blank face. 

“Tell him who you are.” Meza told him quietly. “Mention some of your best memories together. He will only remember what you tell him.”

Lance glanced up at her before slowly reaching out to place his hands on Keith’s shoulders carefully. “I’m Lance. We…” He hesitated briefly. “We are bonded. We first met at the Garrison and ended up in space together.” He glanced up at Meza again who nodded. “I love you and you...you love me.” He paused to watch Keith’s face. The red paladin blinked a few times before some recognition started to show in his eyes. 

“Lance…” He whispered and his eyes moved around, taking in the other’s face. “Lance” He breathed again and slowly wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in Lance’s neck. 

Lance held him tightly and, after a nod from Meza, started telling Keith about all the times they laughed, went on missions or simply spend time together. He briefly feared Keith would ask about Voltron but he never did. 

When Lance thinks back to it now, he does feel a tiny bit of guilt for stripping Keith of his memories like that but every time he looks at the red paladin and sees his relaxed expression or the smile he even wears in his sleep, he thinks that it was worth it. 

He is happy. 

“I want some of those white berries Kosmo found yesterday.” Keith mumbles as he beams up at the trees. “They tasted kind of sour but they left behind a tingly feeling on my tongue.”

“You’re so weird.” Lance chuckles and Keith lifts his head to pout at him. 

Soon they reach the clearing that pretty much is their home at the moment. It never rains so they stopped asking Meza for shelter and just sleep under the stars. 

A chirp makes both of them look up as Kosmo flies through the trees. Keith smiles and struggles so Lance carefully lets him down. As soon as his bare feet touch the ground, the grass seems greener around him and in the footprints he leaves behind, flowers start to bloom. It happens to Lance as well but not that obviously. 

Keith holds his hands out and Kosmo lands in them, chirping happily as he holds up a small white berry. “How did you know?” Keith laughs and takes it from him. “Thank you!”

Lance leans against a tree and watches the scene contently. 

Meza offered to give them their armor back but Lance refused, scared Keith might remember something if he saw it. Lance also gave Keith’s blade to the alien, asking her to hide it with the armor. 

She did manage to create some clothes for them though. For Lance, she made a pair of loose pants and something that reminds him of a tank top. Both are made of a material similar to cotton. He never asked how she got it. 

Keith never told them what he wanted so Lance asked Meza to create a gown similar to those he remembered Greek Goddesses wear in paintings. It ended up being a bit shorter, barely reaching his knees when he wrapped a belt around his waist so it had at least some kind of shape. The material reminds more of silk. 

All pieces of clothing are a light creme color. It makes Lance’s skin appear darker and Keith’s even lighter. 

“Here you are.” Lance turns his head when Meza steps through the trees. “Don’t tell me he’s hungry again.”

“Okay, I won’t tell you.” Lance chuckles.

Meza sighs and shakes her head. “That boy will eat my forest empty. I would understand it if he was able to carry a child, but this…”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll just let Kosmo search for some berries until we eat in the evening.”

She nods and stops watching as Keith coos at Kosmo, training her otherworldly eyes at Lance. “There is something I need to tell you.”

“Yes?” He asks and raises an eyebrow in amusement, his eyes still following after Keith who starts chasing Kosmo as the creature starts flying around. “Spit it out.”

“A ship is currently closing in on us.”

Lance freezes and turns to face her. “What?” He hisses. 

“It is not a Galra ship as far as I know.”

The blue paladin narrows his eyes and his jaw tenses. “Does it look like a lion?”

“No, it is not Voltron or one of its lions.”

“I need to check it out.” Lance says quickly as he starts stepping closer to the centre of the clearing where Keith is crouching in the grass, petting Kosmo. 

The red paladin looks up when Lance approaches. “Kosmo found some more berries.” Keith tells him happily. 

Lance crouches down next to him and forces a smile. “That’s good. Kitten, is it okay if I leave you here to play with Kosmo?”

Keith frowns up at him. “What? Why?”

Lance grins and holds his index finger in front of his lips. “It’s a surprise.”

That seems to lift Keith’s mood again. He hums and smiles as he starts to stroke behind Kosmo’s ears again. “Okay. Is it something big?” He asks with a smirk.

“I said it’s a surprise. I can’t tell you.”

“Fine” Keith lifts his chin. “Leave me alone. I’ll be fine.” He pretends to sob and lets himself fall back into the grass. “Oh what will I do on my own?”

Lance gets up and laughs at the other’s dramatic behavior. “Don’t overdo it.”

But Keith throws his arms into the air. “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?” He cries. 

“I won’t be gone for long, Juliet.” Lance laughs and turns away, his smile fading as soon as he’s out of Keith’s line of sight. 

Meza narrows her eyes at him when he stops towards her. 

“Show me.” He demands and she hesitates briefly, her eyes flickering to Keith, before she nods and steps back into the trees to lead the way. 


	10. Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trouble by Halsey
> 
> Hey guys!
> 
> I know it's been a while since I updated. I still have the same excuse. My new job is taking up a lot of time and it will for about two or three more months. I'm glad I already had this written and I really hope that I'll be able to continue once everything calms down.  
> Be patient with me! I want this to be good so I won't try to rush anything.  
> ALSO I read all your comments!!! I just wanted to let you know! They make me so happy!!  
> If there are any typos please let me know!  
> Now enjoy!

They stand at the edge of the forest, looking out into the desert where a rather small ship is currently landing.

“I’ve seen ships like that before.” Lance says, his arms crossed across his chest. “The rebels.”

“The rebels?” Meza asks. “Like the brother of the green paladin?”

Lance freezes and glances at her. “Sometimes I forget that you rummaged through our heads.”

“Which I will not apologize for.” She tells him proudly.

“Anyway,” Lance starts and drops his arms. “I need my armor.”

“What for?”

“I’m going to talk to them.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Meza, as much as I love it here, we can’t stay in your forest forever and the Galra ship you told me about probably won’t work anyway.”

The alien looks up at the rebel ship again, her chin raised high. “You really want to take him away from here?” She asks. “His memories will come back.”

Lance ignores her statement as he turns to walk back into the forest. “Get me my armor.”

Meza turns her head and huffs. “As you wish.”

~ ~ ~

Keith watches the forest floor closely so he won’t lose the trail of single daisies that grow in Lance’s footprints. On his shoulder, Kosmo whimpers unhappily and Keith reaches up to pat his head.

“I know you don’t like this but Lance should know that I’m not a patient person.” He laughs softly, stopping briefly when he thinks he lost the trail, only to spot a daisy behind a thick root.

He follows the daisies for about ten minutes before he hears voices and quickly slides behind a tree so they won’t see him.

“Here is it.” He hears Meza say and then there’s noise of clothes ruffling. “Be quick.”

Lance mumbles something Keith can’t make out, so he slowly turns his head to glance past the tree. His eyes widen at what he sees.

The pants and shirt are thrown across a nearby rock while Lance zips up a black suit. Then he reaches for something on the ground and Keith narrows his eyes. Is that...armor?

What?

Suddenly, something in his mind clicks and he presses his back to the tree again as memories flash through his head.

That armor belongs to a paladin of Voltron.

Voltron!

The paladins!

The lions!

They are paladins of Voltron!

“Oh my god.” He breathes. “How could I forget?” Keith tenses up and whirls around again in time to see Lance walk off.

Meza watches him go before turning her head into Keith’s direction. Her eyes shine in the dull light as she crosses her arms. “I know you’re there. Come out. He’s gone.”

Keith flinches and considers running but decides that she would find him anyway so he steps out of his hiding spot to face her. “What did you do to me?” He asks angrily. Kosmo whines and jumps into the air, hovering next to him.

“I didn’t do anything. I gave him the option to make you forget.”

“Of course he’d love that.” Keith hisses and glares into the direction Lance disappeared in.

“I do not understand why you feel such rage. Your memories only ever brought you sorrow. You were happy without them.”

“It was a lie!”

“Was it really?”

Keith huffs and stomps past her. “I’ll confront him.”

A hand grabs his arm, stopping him in his tracks. “I won’t stop you but please know that he didn’t want this to last forever. All he wanted was for you to be able to relax for a while before the war comes back into your lives.”

“Don’t defend him.” Keith barks and pushes her arm away. “And stop acting like you’re all wise and friendly. You’re a murderer.”

Meza lets her hand fall to her side. She observes Keith’s angry expression and sighs. “I liked you better when you were all innocent.”

“Fuck you, forest bitch!” Keith yells and throws his hands up furiously. “I’m done with you and this place.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way.”

“Oh my god! Shut up!” He groans as he starts following after Lance.

“You should let the past go and try to look into the future.” Meza calls after him.

Keith gives her the finger, even though he’s pretty sure she doesn’t know what it means.

~ ~ ~

Lance steps out into the desert, his eyes trained on the ship that just landed. He doesn’t like the idea of confronting the crew without a weapon, but he doesn’t have a choice.

The back of the ship opens and three figures step out. Lance is close enough to immediately recognize them.

Nyma, Rolo and Matt.

Fuck.

He doesn’t stop though but instead forces himself to put on a more friendly expression as he approaches them. Matt looks into his direction and raises the blaster in his hand, aiming at him. “Who…” He freezes when he recognizes who is walking towards them and drops his weapon into the sand in shock. “Lance?” He gasps and stares at the blue paladin dumbfoundedly.

Lance waves casually as he closes the distance between them.

Nyma and Rolo stare at him equally shocked. “Lance?” Nyma asks and shakes her head. “No, that’s not possible. The Galra…”

“They took Voltron, including you. How…” Matt says, hesitantly reaching out to touch Lance’s shoulder. “You can’t be real.”

“I am very real.” The blue paladin chuckles as he looks from Matt to the other two. “What are you doing here?”

“What are _we_ doing here?” Nyma cries. “Are you serious?”

“We are on our way back from a mission. There was the rumor about a Galra slave ship so we went to investigate in hopes of finding the paladins.” Rolo tells him calmly.

“Katie!” Matt gasps desperately. “Is Katie here as well?”

Lance takes in his hurt expression and shakes his head. “No, she’s not here.”

“Are you the only one? How did you get here?” Nyma asks.

“I managed to escape when the Galra attacked the castle ship.” Lance lies. “I took an escape pod and crashed here.”

Matt lowers his gaze and takes a few deep breaths. “Okay” He blinks a few times as he thinks and straightens his shoulders, opening his mouth to speak again when something catches his attention. “Is that…”

Lance frowns and turns around, his eyes widening. “Keith”

The red paladin is stomping through the sand towards them, his furious expression obvious even in the distance.

“Keith is with you?” Rolo asks.

“What is going on?” Matt demands.

“You said you were the only one, right?” Nyma mutters and her hand reaches for the small gun on her belt. “Lance…”

“Point that freaking gun at his head already!” Keith yells when he’s close enough.

They don’t move, all eyes trained on him as he steps up to them. “What the hell are you wearing?” Rolo chuckles and Keith glares at him.

“Shut up!” He hisses and points at Lance. “Tie him up or just shoot him in the leg!”

Rolo’s smile fades and he exchanges confused looks with Nyma while Matt is staring at them like he’s seen a ghost.

Keith glances at Lance nervously, who just watches the scene with a blank expression. “Nyma” He pleads. “Shoot him in the leg or something. Please.”

Nyma looks at him and her eyes widen. “Keith, why would I do that?”

“He’s…” But before Keith can tell them, Lance is at his side and wraps an arm around his shoulders. The touch feels like it’s burning him but somehow all anger fades away with it.

“Keith didn’t take any of this very well.” Lance tells them as he squeezes Keith’s shoulder.

Keith looks up at him as heat seems to flow out of the hand touching him. Feelings of betrayal and fear slowly fade into the background to make way for memories of the way the blue paladin treated him while they lived in the forest.

“Keith?” Matt asks as he slowly steps closer. “Are you okay?”

He looks up at Matt and finds himself nodding. Maybe Meza was right after all. If he just stopped fighting it…

He shut his eyes tightly and leaned against Lance who slid his hand down to his waist. “I didn’t want him to find out I was meeting you.” Lance tells them. “He’s been rather impulsive lately.”

“Probably PTSD.” Matt mumbles. “It wouldn’t surprise me.”

Lance nods and turns his head to whisper in Keith’s ear. “Get your armor and blade from Meza.”

Keith frowns up at him. “What?”

“Do it. We’re leaving.” He places a kiss on Keith’s temple before pushing him towards the forest again. For some reason Keith actually listens to him and starts running back.

This is insane!

Lance is insane!

But he can’t lie to himself. It was nice to just be happy for a while. Now, seeing Matt, Rolo and Nyma, old wounds open up again and the reality of the war around them comes back to him. Keith grimaces as he forces his legs to go faster. Tears burn in his eyes for some strange reason he doesn’t understand.

He’s never been this weak. He always managed to stay strong even when others weren’t. So why does he suddenly feel like breaking down?

Hands grab his shoulders and he gasps in shock, blinking up at Meza. He reached the forest faster than expected. “Stop fighting.” She tells him softly. “You are ruining your mind.”

Keith can’t help but sob as he shakes his head. “But how can I just sit back and watch? The universe is at war and Voltron was the only chance to fix it. Lance destroyed that. How can I just…” He drops his head and lets out a frustrated cry.

“Focus on what it really is that you want. Do you want to keep fighting a war that is most likely impossible to win or do you want to live for yourself and be happy?”

“How can I be happy?”

“Weren’t you happy here?”

Keith looks up at her. She doesn’t smile. She rarely does but her eyes are soft.

“I was…” He breathes. “But I can’t just stop caring.”

Meza nods slowly and puts a hand on his head, possibly in a try to comfort him. “Listen to your instincts. What do they say?”

Keith stares ahead, thinking about her words. His instincts.

“Don’t think. Tell me the first thing that comes to your mind.”

“Lance” He says quickly. “I want to get my armor and then get back to Lance.”

“There is your answer.” She drops her hands and steps back, motioning to a pile on the forest floor.

Keith stumbles forward and drops to his knees, observing his armor.

“There is no such thing as good and evil, Keith. You need to decide for yourself if you want to follow that concept.” Meza says while she watches Keith get out of his gown and reach for the flight suit. “I also don’t think it’s healthy to ignore your feelings.”

Keith starts to put on the different pieces of armor as he listens to her.

“Tell me, what comes to your mind when you think of him?”

The red paladin looks down at himself and, when she holds it out, he takes his blade from her. “I think, the centre of this man’s attention is a very bad place to be.” He looks down at the weapon in his hands. “But I don’t need a perfect relationship. I just need someone who won’t give up on me. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Meza actually offers a smile at that.

“I hate to admit it, but…” Keith looks up at her. “I love the way he looks at me. I love the way he touches me. I don’t care if it’s careful or rough. I don’t care if his gaze is soft or possessive. I tried to hate it, to hate him, for the things he did, but just like before, I never could. When he tried to make me his rival I wasn’t able to hate him and I won’t be able to now.”

“There is no shame in admitting such a thing.” Meza says and places her hand on Keith’s shoulder again. “I wish you the very best, red paladin.”

He nods and smiles weakly. “Thank you”

No more words are exchanged. Meza steps back and Keith turns to leave. He barely stepped a foot out of the forest when a noise makes him hesitate though.

He looks over his shoulder just in time to see Kosmo fly towards him. “Kosmo” Keith greets him as the creature grabs the collar of his chest plate and chirps up at him. “I’m sorry but I can’t stay.”

“He isn’t asking you to stay.” Meza calls over her shoulder as she disappears into the trees. “He is asking to come along.”

Keith blinks at Kosmo before smiling at him. “You want to come with me?” Kosmo squeaks and jumps up to take his place on Keith’s shoulder once more. “Alright”

The red paladin looks into the direction of the rebel ship and starts running.

~ ~ ~

“So you and Keith escaped. How?” Matt asks.

“I told you. We used an escape pod.”

“That’s bullshit, Lance, and you know it. The Galra aren’t that stupid!” Nyma hisses. “Tell us the truth.”

“You want to know the truth?” Lance asks, dropping his eyes in fake sadness. He steps past Matt and sighs heavily, as if he’s about to tell a dramatic story.

All eyes are on him but no one seems to see it coming when he reaches into the sand and takes the blaster Matt dropped, pointing it at them as he steps back.

“The truth is that I betrayed them, took Keith and flew off.” He chuckles, quickly turning towards Nyma when she reaches for her own weapon again. “Nah! Don’t!” He laughs. “Drop it.”

Nyma bares her teeth at him. “Fuck you!” She yells as she grabs her gun and points it at him.

Lance raises an eyebrow, casually moves the blaster to the side and shoots.

A scream breaks the tension as Matt drops to his knees, covering the hole in his thigh with his hands. “Shit! Why did you do that?” He cries as blood runs through his fingers.

Both Nyma and Rolo gasp and attempt to move towards their friend, but Lance raises the weapon again. “I just wanted you to know that I’m not playing around.” He says and glances over to the forest briefly where he can make out Keith running towards them. “And if one of you has the great idea to aim a weapon at Keith, I’d kindly ask you to forget about it.”

“What is your deal with him?” Nyma asks hatefully. “Is he in on this too?”

“No, he’s not. I just pulled him along.”

“Why?”

Lance locks eyes with her. She is desperately trying to keep a straight face, to appear dangerous. The blaster lowers slightly. “Because I love him and don’t want him to get hurt.” He tells her, his voice soft.

Nyma frowns and looks over to Keith who will reach them any minute. “All of this for a boy? You’d let the whole universe go to shit, just for him?”

“I’d do anything for him.”

“You’re absolutely nuts!” Matt cries, tears and snot falling from his face as he is still trying to cover the wound.

“I just know what I’m fighting for.” Lance says and raises the gun again. “Do you?”

Keith closes in on them and slows down. He takes in the scene, his gaze lowering to observe Matt briefly.

Lance doesn’t look away from Nyma and Rolo while he rests the back of the blaster against his shoulder and holds out his free hand towards Keith.

The red paladin looks up at the movement and glances at the other two before stepping to Lance’s side, taking his hand.

“Keith!” Nyma gasps. “What are you doing?”

Keith lowers his head so his hair is hiding his eyes. “What feels right.” He whispers.

Nyma shakes her head in disappointment.

“Now! Let’s make a deal! We take your ship and in return, no one gets hurt.” Lance suggests with a smirk.

“You shot Matt in the leg.” Rolo states and crosses his arms.

“He’s already hurt. I won’t hurt anyone from now on if you cooperate.”

Rolo looks down at Nyma, who is glaring daggers at Lance. “Fine, take our ship. I don’t care, but I promise I will tell everyone in the coalition about this. Everyone will be after you and everyone will know what you did.”

Keith looks up at Lance with wide eyes. “Maybe we should just…”

“Deal” Lance interrupts him. “Now get away from my ship.”

“You won't get away with this!” Matt cries and attempts to get up. “You let the Galra take my sister! You’re a monster! You were supposed to be her friend!”

“Oh, I almost cared.” Lance huffs as he pulls Keith towards the ship.

Rolo and Nyma step aside when Lance keeps the blaster pointed at their heads. “Keith” Rolo says and the raven turns to face him. “Whatever may be the reason you think you have to do this, there is always a way out.”

Keith’s expression turns into a blank one. “People always let me down. I’ve never been someone’s first choice.”

“Keith, I…”

“I once told him to go to hell and he asked me to come with him.” He pauses and puts on a smile. “And that’s what I’m doing.”

Rolo’s jaw drops and Nyma lets out a growl as Lance pulls Keith away from them and into the ship. “You okay to pilot?” He asks the red paladin, who nods and runs off to the cockpit, Kosmo chirping as he jumps off his shoulder and follows him.

Lance looks after him contently before glaring down at the others again. “There should be a Galra ship somewhere on this planet. I doubt it’ll work but I want to play fair.” He locks eyes with Nyma and smirks. “I guess this is payback.”

She raises her chin proudly. “I guess it is.” She states coldly and steps away from the ship to check on Matt.

Rolo doesn’t move as his eyes bore into Lance. “He’s a fine piece of ass but handing your friends over to the enemy for him? That’s low.”

“At least it’s my fine piece of ass.”

Rolo shrugs. “I guess. Stay under the radar. Look for a refugee planet and settle down.” He tells Lance as he steps back.

Lance’s smirk disappears, making way for confusion. “Huh? Why are you telling me that?”

“I don’t think what you did was right, but I understand your motivation, I guess. Remember, Nyma and I were ready to hand your lion over to the Galra. Some people just need to fight their own war.” Rolo glances at his friends. “Just don’t hurt anyone and stay out of our way.”

Lance blinks at him before he starts laughing. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this.” He shakes his head in disbelief. “Thank you”

Rolo shrugs again and walks off. Lance watches him go and pushes the button to pull up the back of the ship. “Kitten, you ready?” He calls and throws the blaster into a corner as he makes his way to the cockpit where Keith is pushing buttons while Kosmo is curling up on the floor next to him.

“This thing is so retro.” He groans. “But we should be ready to go.”

Lance stands in front of the piloting chair and crouches down. He slowly reaches out and takes one of Keith’s hands away from the controls, placing a kiss on the back of it. “Why did you change your mind?”

Keith feels himself blush at the intimacy, which is hilarious since they’ve done worse things. “I…” He looks away. “While I don’t approve of what you did, I can’t help but admit that I was happy here.”

Lance smiles at that. “I actually felt guilty but you were so carefree. I didn’t want to take that away from you again.”

Keith nods and dares to lock eyes with Lance again. “It might be the bond but I just can’t hate you. I tried but…”

“I love you.”

“That! You keep saying stuff like that!” Keith whines and pulls his hand away. “You knock me out, you kidnap me, you pretty much rape me…” Lance rolls his eyes at that. “But then your words are so sweet and I end up falling even deeper.”

Lance gets up and places his hands on the armrests of the chair as he slowly leans into Keith’s personal space, drawing a surprised squeak from the red paladin. “Just let yourself fall. I’ll catch you.” He purrs and leans in.

Keith shuts his eyes as the warm pull of energy buzzes through him. He expects Lance’s lips to meet his own but instead, the other places a kiss on Keith’s forehead and steps back again.

The red paladin blinks up at the other, his eyes slightly unfocused. Lance smiles at him and glances out into the desert. “Get us out of here. We’ll try to find a refugee planet to hide.”

“A refugee planet?” Keith asks as he slowly takes hold of the controls again.

“There are many different kinds of aliens. If we stay under the radar, it should be safe.” Lance says, his smile disappearing as his eyes turn serious suddenly. “The Galra, Voltron, the rebels, anyone could come for us by now.”

Keith swallows nervously as he concentrates on starting the ship. The controls light up and he pushes a button to start the engine so it lifts into the air. “What if Voltron does manage to find us?” He asks quietly, his eyes trained on the shrinking surface of the planet.

“Don’t worry about that.” Lance says as he steps out of Keith’s line of sighs and into the back of the ship. “I just hope they won’t find you.”

“Me?” Keith frowns and glances over his shoulder briefly where Lance is getting rid of his armor before rummaging through different boxes to find something that won’t give away his identity immediately. .

“As soon as you see Shiro, you’ll run back to them.” The blue paladin hisses and kicks a metal box angrily.

Keith lowers his gaze briefly before looking up at the approaching darkness of space. He would have to lie to make Lance feel better so he simply remains silent while the other starts cursing as he throws all kinds of stuff around the small spaceship.

Eventually, Lance finds random pieces of self-made armor and rolls his eyes as he starts stepping out of his paladin armor to put on the rebel outfit.

“We could try to save the others.” Keith mumbles as he starts checking the screens for a hint about their location.

“Why?” Lance hisses as he stomps back to the pilot’s chair.

Keith glances up at him, briefly observing the black pants, ripped shirt and dark brown leather jacket.. “I mean, you have me now so we could go back, save the others, get the lions and the castle ship…”

“Do you really want that?” Lace huffs. “And I thought we made progress.” He places a hand on Keith’s shoulder and glares at the darkness in front of them. “Listen, this isn’t our war.”

“Isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not. I really don’t want to keep wasting time by fighting in a war that has nothing to do with me. I’d rather find a nice place to stay and enjoy my time with you.”

Keith’s jaw tenses as he listens to the other while going through the nearby planets on the touchpad in front of him.

“Maybe we could adopt kids someday.” Lance adds and Keith freezes before blinking up at him.

“What?”

Lance smiles slightly and shrugs. “I have a huge family. Gotta continue the tradition.”

Keith looks away again before Lance can see him blush. “You’re getting ahead of yourself.”

“Am I?” Lance purrs and leans down to nuzzle Keith’s neck. “I think you’d make a great parent. Meza told me a lot about Galra anatomy and habits while we stayed in her forest and I know that, if your Galra genes were more dominant, you’d be able to get pregnant.” He smirks against Keith’s skin, making him shiver. “Sadly, you don’t have the parts for it but you’re equipped with a special maternal instinct. We just need to bring it to the surface.”

“Lance!” Keith gasps and leans away from the blue paladin, who actually takes a step back as he laughs. “That’s weird! Stop talking about it.”

“If we had kids, they’d probably be as beautiful as you.” Lance sighs and walks off again.

Keith tightens his grip on the controls as he stares ahead. Lance is crazy. He will never be a parent. He never wanted to and he certainly doesn’t want to now. It simply wouldn’t work out.

“Does this thing have an autopilot?” Lance calls and Keith shakes his head to push his thoughts away.

The red paladin pushes a button and jumps to his feet. “Yeah” He turns and steps closer to Lance who is still looking through the metal boxes.

“You need new clothes as well.”

“Keith looks down at his armor. “What? Why?”

Lance rolls his eyes and sighs. “Good thing you’re pretty.” He chuckles and holds a bundle of clothes out for Keith to take. “Wearing your paladin armor while on the run? Maybe not a very smart thing to do, huh?”

“Oh…” Keith hesitantly takes the bundle from Lance. All of it is black. Tight pants, a oversized top and a coat with a big hood. “And you think we won’t be the centre of attention if we look like space ninjas?”

“Hun, just trust me, okay? Or do you want the crop top I found?” Lance smirks and pretends to reach for something in one of the boxes.

Keith’s cheeks turn bright red. “No, this is fine.”

“Thought so.” The blue paladin beams and pats him on the shoulder before stepping past him to take his seat in front of the controls, deactivating the autopilot and taking over.

Keith looks after him before putting the clothes down. He takes his armor off and puts it into an empty box. He hesitates briefly before taking off the flight suit and eventually reaches for the pants. They are made of a thick material, reminding him of a pair of skinny jeans he had back on earth. There’s a hole just underneath the right knee. It probably isn’t there for fashion purposes.

Keith puts them on and grimaces briefly at how tight they are. Then he throws the top over his head. The holes for the arms reach down to the middle of his torso and he’s about to ask Lance if it’s supposed to look that way, but he quickly decides against it and puts on the coat instead.

The material is soft but thick, the bottom of it frayed around his knees. The sleeves are a bit too long so he shakes his arms to free his hands before pulling the hood up.

“You look like a sexy space pirate.”

Keith flinches at Lance’s voice and looks up to see the blue paladin leaning over the back of the chair, smiling at him softly before turning to face the controls again.

Keith lowers his gaze again and can’t help but smile to himself as he slowly steps closer to Lance, standing next to the piloting chair.

Lance glances up at him and observes his face. “You okay?”

Keith watches the stars in front of them and nods. “Yeah”

The blue paladin keeps observing him before pushing the autopilot button again and getting out of the seat to stand in front of Keith. He slowly reaches out and takes the other’s hand.

Keith takes in a sharp breath and looks down at their hands.

“Does it make you feel…” Lance starts. “How does it make you feel?”

A warm rush moves up Keith’s arm at the touch and the uncertainness he felt before slowly disappears again, making him frown. “I...I feel like you’re erasing everything that’s bad.”

Lance searches his face and beams. “Really?” He brings up his free hand as well to touch Keith’s cheek.

Keith shuts his eyes briefly and tries to savor the doubts he still has but with the other’s touch on his cheek, his mind turns blank and he leans into the touch.

“Fascinating” Lance breathes and smiles before tightly wrapping his arms around Keith. The red paladin slumps against him and feels a strange vibration in his chest. “You’re purring!” Lance cheers. “This is the best day of my life!”

Keith frowns and brings some distance between them as he looks down at himself in confusion. Lance opens his mouth but an alarm from the controls makes him look up. “What…” He whirls around and looks up at the screens.

Keith raises his gaze as well. “Energy low.” He reads. “That’s probably why they landed in the first place. They were looking for an energy source.”

Lance glares up at the letters before looking at Keith over his shoulder. “I doubt this one can be solved by us fucking.”

Keith blinks at him before rolling his eyes. “Probably not.”

The blue paladin groans and lets himself fall back into the piloting chair. “Fine, I’ll choose the next planet to land and we’ll decide what to do once we’re there. I’m not getting any information about what’s around us.”

Keith nods and takes a few steps back. “I’ll...pack some supplies.” He mumbles before stepping away from the front of the ship to find some kind of bag.

Lance nods and sets the course for the nearest planet.


	11. Delusional

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Delusional by Simon Curtis

Keith has two backpacks packed with supplies by the time the ship lands on the planet. He takes one last look around before making his way over to Lance, who is just getting out of the piloting chair. 

“Looks an awful lot like the last one.” The blue paladin mumbles unhappily. 

Keith looks up at him and forces a smile. “Well, that one wasn’t too bad, huh?”

Lance blinks at the other and chuckles, shaking his head. “Whatever you say, kitten. You keep changing your mind.” He reaches out to take one of the backpacks and leans in to kiss Keith on the forehead. “Now, let’s see what’s going on out there.” He steps past Keith and punches the button to open the back. 

Keith steps up behind him and watches as yet another desert is revealed. He briefly thinks back to the last time they were faced with this but quickly shakes the memory off. 

“So…” Lance takes a deep breath and turns to look at Keith, but he stops halfway, his gaze stuck on the blaster that’s still on the ground. He steps over to it and picks it up. It’s small in size so he puts it in his backpack. “Now we’re ready. At least we have a weapon this time.”

Keith watches him and reaches into the inside pocket of his coat to feel for his blade. When something hits his shoulder, he gasps and stumbles back, but a tired squeak makes him remember. “Oh, Kosmo.” 

The creature curls up on his shoulder and yawns, showing off his tiny sharp teeth. Keith smiles and reaches up to pat his head before nodding at Lance. 

They carefully step out of the ship and look around the deserted area but everything is quiet. 

“Did you check the atmosphere?” Keith asks hesitantly. 

Lance nods. “One of the few things this ship was able to do. Non-toxic.”

Keith takes a deep breath at that and looks down at the reddish sand. “So, are we just walking around? What are we looking for?”

“Really, Keith? This isn’t the first time you landed on an unfamiliar planet.” Lance chuckles. “First, we are looking for shelter.” He explains while both of them start walking. “We should look for supplies on the way. Food, water…” Keith listens to him but looks up when he hears a noise. 

Lance seems to have heard it as well. He looks up at the dune right in front of them. “You hear that?”

Keith nods. “Yeah…”

They pick up their pace and start climbing up the steep dune. At first, both keep sliding down again but after a minute, they start to get the hang of it and manage to get a good grip. 

Kosmo chirps and spreads his wings. He jumps off Keith’s shoulders and flies up the dune. Both paladins look after him and try to climb faster. 

Lance reaches the top first. He gets up and wipes his hands clean on his shirt while looking down at the view in front of him. “The fuck…” He breathes. 

Kosmo lands on his shoulder hesitantly and blinks up at him. The creature’s fur changes color, getting slightly darker and puffing up. 

Keith frowns as he crawls next to Lance. “What is it?” He asks as he lets Lance pull him to his feet. The red paladin takes in the view and his eyes widen. 

In front of them is a huge valley completely surrounded by huge dunes like the one they just climbed. In the valley, there seems to be a town. There are bright blinking buildings and masses of aliens can be seen walking around the narrow streets even from where they are standing. 

“What is this?” Keith asks. 

“I have no fucking idea but it’s better than the forest on Garicu.” Lance chuckles and starts moving again. Kosmo whines in displeasure and jumps over to Keith’s shoulder instead. 

“Hey! Are we just going down there?” Keith calls after him as he starts to follow down the dune hesitantly. 

“Yes!”

“B-but we don’t know…!”

“We’ll find out!”

Keith grimaces as they keep sliding towards the first few houses. Once they reach the ground, Lance dusts his pants off and takes a few steps forward, looking up at the city. 

“This looks like an alien version of Vegas!” He cheers and turns to smile at Keith. “How can you not think this is super cool?”

“Because I’m still thinking straight.” The red paladin mumbles and Lance blinks at him before he starts laughing. 

“I hope that pun was intended.”

“What?”

But Lance already grabbed Keith’s hand. “Come on! We’ll check it out!”

“Lance! We should be careful.” Keith whines when he almost loses his footing at Lance’s sharp tug. Kosmo squeaks as he tries to hold onto Keith’s coat.

“Don’t be a pussy.” The former blue paladin laughs. “No one knows who we are. We'll just tell them we are rebels if someone asks.”

Keith keeps stumbling after Lance as they start walking through the streets. The houses are small and look old and dirty but down the street he sees colorful lights and people laughing. “Are you sure this is safe?” He asks quietly. 

Lance turns his head to look at him and finally stops walking. He turns towards Keith and observes him briefly before smiling. “I would never risk you getting in trouble.”

Keith raises an eyebrow at that. “Yeah, sure…” He breathes sarcastically and Kosmo huffs.

“Keith” Lance groans. “You decided to stay with me, right?”

Keith tightens his jaw and looks away before nodding. “Yeah…”

“So, I say we should have some fun after all the shit we went through.”

“But we don't even know where we are and if this place is safe.”

“Then we'll find out.”

“But…”

“No more buts. We're going on an adventure.” Lance beams at him but Keith sees the tension behind it. “Okay?” He narrows his eyes and Keith nods quickly. “Awesome!”

And just like that, Lance starts pulling him along again.

The noises get louder and the lights brighter. If Keith didn't know better, he'd be sure they are somewhere in the middle of a big city back on earth. The aliens roaming the streets kind of ruin that illusion though.

There seem to be all kinds of species around, so at least no one will ask questions.

A group of tall grey aliens catches Keith's eye. They are dressed in dark robes and their eyes are glowing a dark red. Their physique looks human enough, except for their huge arms and long legs. 

One of them suddenly looks up and his eyes find the duo immediately. Keith lowers his gaze and swallows nervously. The atmosphere is a bit too dark. Like those dark alleys behind clubs where you either find drugs or a dead body.

“Keith! Are you even listening?”

Keith blinks and looks up at Lance. “What?”

Lance chuckles and wraps an arm around his waist before looking up at someone Keith didn't notice before. The alien is huge with four arms that are crossed over a dark furry chest. Eight black eyes observe them. Keith was never afraid of spiders but a chill runs down his spine at the association nonetheless.

“Sorry. He's already a bit dazed, if you know what I mean.” Lance tells the alien with a smirk. His fingers poke into Keith's hip like claws, so he bites his bottom lip and remains silent.

The alien huffs and lifts one of his arms to open the door behind him. 

Keith looks up at the building and a chuckle escapes him. The concept of clubs seems to be an intergalactic one.

“What's so funny?” Lance asks quietly as they slowly start to walk inside.

“This is like on earth.” 

“You went to clubs?”

The red paladin nods shyly as he looks around the dark hallway. At the end of it, there are bright neon lights and the bass of strange electronic music rattles his bones. On his shoulder, Kosmo hisses and when Keith turns his head, he sees the tiny creature is covering his ears pathetically. 

“Stop being so tense. Just pretend we're on earth.” Lance tells him while looking around and letting his backpack and jacket fall to the floor. “Just two guys going out to dance, have some drinks…” He observes the wall, which is covered in lines and shapes, and pokes it, which seems to trigger something like a locker to open. Lance smiles to himself as he shoves his stuff inside before holding his hand out. Keith blinks at it and hesitantly hands him his own backpack. Lance locks it away as well and hesitates as they're about to enter the club. “If Voltron never happened, would you have said yes to a date with me?”

Keith couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Lance’s hopeful expression. “Sure”

Lance beams at that. “Then why don't we just pretend? We're not in space. We sneaked out at night and I took you to a club in the next town. You're all shy and nervous because you never would've thought I even noticed you and I'm handsome and such a gentleman.” Lance bows dramatically as he talks and eventually blinks up at Keith in question. “Think you can do that?”

Keith hums in thought and glances past Lance inside the club. “I think I can do that, yeah.”

“Great!” And with that, Lance grabs his hand and pulls him into the crowd. 

Keith looks around briefly. There are so many different species. He actually starts to believe that they are safe. The only difference is that there isn’t one big dancefloor but more like ten tiny ones. Each of them holds about 25 partygoers that are crowded together. The bar and the sitting areas in the corners look just like a normal club on earth. 

On his shoulder, Kosmo shakes uncomfortably and Keith smiles sadly at him. “I’m sorry. It’s a bit too loud, huh? You can wait outside if you want.” He reaches up to pat Kosmo’s head. “Check the area, would ya?”

Kosmo blinks at him and chirps before nodding and taking off. Keith looks over his shoulder and watches the tiny creature rush through the air and back towards the entrance. 

The red paladin’s eyes move forward again, watching Lance, who is leading them through the room and towards the bar. He is wearing a big smile and sometimes nods at someone as if he’s doing this every night. Seeing him like this almost makes Keith forget about what lead them here in the first place. 

When it’s only the two of them, Lance acts so much like his old self. If it weren’t for the betrayal of their friends and alliance, it would be a dream come true. 

Keith lowers his gaze, watching their hands. 

Maybe that’s the best thing he can do. Keep Lance away from the others. Surely, they would be able to find a way out of the Galra’s grasp on their own. Pidge can hack the system, Shiro can fight, Allura is smart and Coran and Hunk will help them the best they can. 

Keith knows he’s only making up excuses to feel better with himself but what good would come of it if they were to cross paths with the others again? Look how that worked with Matt and co. 

They reach the bar and Lance sends a smug look over his shoulder at Keith before waving at the yellow alien behind the bar. “Yo! Barkeep! We would like to have some fun. Have anything for us?”

The alien’s glowing eyes land on them, observing them boredly. “We have our special house mix.” He tells Lance. 

Lance nods and holds two fingers up. The alien turns and grabs two glasses to get their drinks ready. 

Keith glances around and steps closer to Lance. “What are you doing? We don’t have any money.”

The former blue paladin turns to look at him and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a handful of coins. “The rebels had some though.”

Keith blinks at the money and Lance smiles as he places the coins on the counter. The barkeeper doesn’t pay much attention to then as he places two glasses filled with glowing blue liquid in front of them and collects the coins before walking off to serve someone else. 

Lance hands one of the glasses to Keith and takes the second one for himself. “On us.” He cheers and takes a sip. 

Keith watches as the other grimaces. 

“Geez, that’s sweet as hell.” Lance groans and shuts his eyes before downing almost all of it in one go. 

Keith looks down at the liquid nervously. “What is that?”

“No idea” Lance coughs and sets the glass down. “But there’s some strange bitter aftertaste so I guess it’s at least similar to alcohol.”

“Should we really be drinking?”

“Keith, shut up and try it.”

The red paladin takes a deep breath and puts the glass to his lips. He takes a sip and swallows quickly. The taste is still rather strong. Like Lance said, it’s way too sweet and it burns as it goes down his throat. 

“Come on. No kitten licks. Drink it.” Lance tells him and places two fingers on the bottom of Keith’s glass to lift it again. 

Keith whines but shuts his eyes and tries to swallow it as quickly as possibly so he doesn’t have to taste it. It’s still horrible so he pushes Lance’s hand away and puts the glass down. “That stuff is gross.”

Lance shrugs and takes the half empty glass from him. “I can’t really say I disagree.” He glares at the barkeeper briefly before smiling at Keith. “We should dance.”

“Dance?” Keith asks but Lance is already pulling him along again and towards one of the dancefloors that isn’t as crowded. 

The music still sounds strange. Like Skrillex made a remix while drunk and added some strange dripping sounds to it. Still, they push through the crowd and once they’re in the middle, Lance whirls around and pulls Keith close. “Remember, we are pretending.”

Keith looks around but no one is paying much attention to them so he smiles up at Lance weakly and nods. “Right, pretending.”

Lance simply watches Keith while his hands rest on the red paladin’s waist. When Keith doesn’t react, Lance sighs and grabs the others arms and wraps them around his own neck. “There. Romantic.”

Keith chuckles and lowers his gaze in embarrassment. 

“Are you blushing?” Lance chuckles and leans down to see the other’s face. 

“Shut up” 

“You are!” Lance cheers and raises a hand to hold Keith’s chin and lift his head so they’re looking at each other. “It’s adorable.” Their eyes meet and Lance smiles softly. “I love you.”

Keith gasps as a warm feeling starts spreading through him. He just searches Lance’s face for some sign of malice but all he sees is affection. 

“Keith, are you gonna…” Lance starts. He is interrupted when Keith tightens his hold on him and leans in to bury his face in the former blue paladin’s neck. 

“I love you too.” Keith whispers and shuts his eyes tightly. “And...I’m sorry.”

Lance wraps his arms around Keith and frowns. “What for?”

“For making everything so difficult.” He pauses briefly and opens his eyes but when he tries to pull back, his vision shakes slightly so he keeps holding on. “This could’ve been easier.”

“Keith, is everything okay?” Lance asks as he notices Keit’s speech starting to slow.

“You should’ve told me about your feelings earlier.” Keith cries, thick tears suddenly running down his cheeks. “Before Haggar fucked with your head and we had to betray our friends.”

Lance holds onto Keith’s shoulders and slowly walks them through the crowd and towards one of the couches in the corner. “Keith, you should sit down.”

“No! I…”

But Lance is already pushing him down and quickly sits next to him to hold him up. “What is going on? Tell me.”

Keith blinks at his surroundings but everything feels muted and too much at the same time. “I don’t know.” He slurs. “I just…” He leans against Lance and shuts his eyes. 

Lance wraps an arm around him and looks around frantically. When one of the employees walks past, he waves her over. The female alien blinks her single eye at them and the antennas on her head twitch. “Yes?”

“What’s in that glowing blue drink?” Lance asks. “I think it’s messing with my friend.”

The alien looks from Lance to Keith. “There’s a weak party drug in it.”

“Oh? Then tell me why I’m not feeling any different and he’s…” Lance looks down at an unmoving Keith. “I don’t even know.”

The girl shrugs. “It affects a few races differently. Maybe your race doesn’t react to it at all. I just know that Galra get sick from it.” She tells him and winks. 

Lance’s eyes widen. “What?” He hisses. “Define sick.”

Her smile disappears. “Huh?” She hesitates. “I...I think they would get a pretty high fever and maybe some hallucinations. Sometimes the rebels use it in higher doses to kill them.”

“Shit!” Lance barks and pushes his arms underneath Keith’s body to lift him up. “Does anyone know more about it or do you know where I can find a doctor?”

The alien takes a step back and glances around at the groups of partygoers that are watching them. “Is he...Galra?”

Lance simply glares at her. “Can you help me or not?”

She simply keeps staring at them as she slowly backs away. Lance bares his teeth at her and starts pushing his way through the crowd and towards the exit while holding an unconscious Keith close. 

He almost runs into a couple entering the club on his way out. They step aside in time for him to push through the door. He stops briefly and looks around frantically. The bouncer blinks down at him in surprise and everyone in line to get in starts watching them as well. 

“I…” Lance gasps and glances down at Keith briefly. “Fuck!” He rushes forward and pushes through the mass of people. Most of them step aside in shock. 

“Hey!” A female voice calls behind him and Lance whirls around, spotting the alien waitress next to the bouncer. She points one of her three fingers at Lance and narrows her eye. “Stop them! That one is Galra! He reacted to one of our drinks!”

Lance’s eyes widen at that. 

He should’ve gotten their stuff from the locker.

Mumbling goes through the crowd and at first, he simply starts backing away while watching them. Lance thinks that maybe, just maybe, they won’t attack them considering the state Keith is in, but when the bouncer steps forward and lets out a growl, he whirls around and starts running. 

The street is filled with people and everyone turns to look at him as he runs past. He contemplates on what to do. Going back to the ship won’t do any good. They’d follow him and probably destroy their only way out. And he still needs to help Keith. 

Lance almost stumbles when something moves next to him. He is ready to panic but then he notices Kosmo flying beside him. 

The former blue paladin grimaces and takes in his surroundings. He won’t manage to crawl up the dune anyway so he needs to find a place to hide in the city. 

A chirp forces him to look at Kosmo. The creature watches him intently and then suddenly drops to the ground. Lance frowns and stops as well, turning around to watch. 

Kosmo sits in the middle of the street as the crowd comes closer. He looks over his shoulder at Lance and his whole body starts to glow a bright white. Lance’s eyes widen and he takes a step back, his eyes narrowing to block out the light. 

The crowd slows down once they notice the creature. 

The ball of light surrounding Kosmo grows and grows and Lance doesn’t know what to make of it, but then it stops. 

The cute little creature is gone and in its place is a huge wolf-like alien. Its fur is a dark blue color and a light blue mane reaches around its neck and down its spine to its fluffy tail. Its eyes are glowing yellow as it growls at the crowd. 

“Kosmo…” Lance gasps as he takes in the scene. 

“What the hell is that?” The bouncer barks. The people behind him start to back away. 

Lance smirks. This is perfect. Kosmo could rip that guy apart and then everyone would know not to mess with them. He opens his mouth to tell the animal to charge, but something touches his cheek. He lowers his gaze to see Keith’s eyes slightly open and watching him as he runs his fingers down Lance’s cheek. 

“Don’t hurt them, okay?” The red paladin whispers. 

“What?” Lance asks. “They were chasing us because you’re Galra.”

“So? They don’t know any better.”

“Keith…”

“We have no way out of this place for now and we might need their help.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Tell them that we’re not here to hurt them. If we have a weapon and don’t make use of it, they will believe us.”

“You’re obviously dying.” Lance hisses and glares at the thinning crowd. 

“Lance, please.” Keith whimpers, forcing the other look at him again. “Listen to me. Just this one time.”

Lance grits his teeth and looks at Kosmo, who is watching him patiently. “Kosmo, back off.” He demands and slowly steps towards the wolf. He crouches down and the animal immediately starts inspecting Keith. “Can you look after him for a minute?” Lance asks and Kosmo blinks at him before laying down on the ground so the former paladin can place Keith against his side, who curls up and buries his face in Kosmo’s fur. 

“I’ll be right back.” Lance tells him before getting up and stepping over to the few people still watching them angrily. 

“I let you into my club and you betray me!” The bouncer growls. “Did you lead the Galra here?”

Lance watches him without any emotion showing on his face at all. “No. We’re on the run.”

“That boy is Galra!” The waitress yells as she steps closer. “The drink affected him.”

“So? He’s part Galra. That doesn’t mean that he’s here to hurt you.” Lance says, his voice tense as his eyes wander around the crowd. 

The waitress huffs and crosses her arms. Other aliens look at each other in confusion and whispering can be heard. 

“What do you want here?” The bouncer asks. 

“We landed here after our ship ran out of power. We are merely looking for a safe place to stay for a while, maybe get something to power our ship back up.” Lance pauses briefly to glance over his shoulder. “Also, can you tell me if my friend is in danger after drinking that stuff?”

At first, no one answers him. Everyone simply stares at him. Then, a small alien steps forward. Her huge black eyes blink up at Lance. “I am a healer. If you want, I can take a look at him.”

The other aliens start arguing, but the tiny one doesn’t seem to care. 

Lance observes her. At least he thinks it’s a ‘her’. “Okay” He nods and the alien steps past him and towards Keith and Kosmo. 

“Is this creature dangerous?” The small alien asks and Lance follows her quickly. 

“Only if you try to hurt him.” He tells her before crouching down and petting Kosmo carefully. “She’s going to take a look at Keith.”

Kosmo blinks at him boredly as if he already knew that. 

Once she is sure Kosmo won’t hurt her, the alien leans in to take a closer look at Keith. “He is part Galra? How much?”

“Half”

She nods and slowly reaches out to touch Keith’s cheek. “He’s a bit warm. Give me your hand.” Lance hesitantly holds his hand out. She takes it and places it on Keith’s cheek. “You know how warm your species if supposed to be.”

Lance gasps at the heat Keith is radiating. “He’s too hot. Way too hot.”

Keith’s eyes open slightly at that. He chuckles weakly. “You think I’m hot.”

The alien looks up at Lance, who drops his hand again and smiles sadly at Keith. “Did you drink it as well?” She asks. 

Lance nods. “Yes, but I feel fine.”

“Then I think it is likely that your species is immune to it so he should be fine. Still, until his fever goes down, he needs to rest.”

“We don’t have a safe place to stay.” Lance whispers as he watches Keith’s eyes close again. 

The alien looks over to the crowd again and sighs. “I have a free room in my house. You can stay there until he’s better.”

Lance’s eyes widen at that. “Are you serious? You don’t even know us.”

“Everyone in this town is running from something. You’re just like the rest of us and therefore you deserve our help.” She tells him before turning towards the crowd. “Who of you came here with nothing and in need of help?” She calls. 

The aliens grow quiet and some of them lower their heads. 

“Every single one of you got here and found a safe place to stay. They are no different.” She points towards Lance and Keith. “They will stay at my place and we will treat them like we treat everyone else looking for a home. With respect.”

“B-but...he’s…” The waitress stutters and looks at the people around her. 

“Not all Galra are bad and he’s only half of one.”

The girl glares at her but the bouncer holds an arm out in front of her. “Elia, that’s enough. She is right. We will leave them alone.”

The healer smiles to herself and turns to look at Lance again, leaving the crowd to argue behind her. “I’m Crelnom but just call me Crel.”

“I’m Lance and that’s Keith.” Lance explains. “I...I don’t know how to thank you.”

“You don’t have to. This is what we do. Your case is simply special.” She tells him with a smile. “Now follow me. We should get him to my place.”

Lance nods quickly and crouches down in front of Keith to pick him up again. “You can be proud of yourself.” He chuckles quietly as he holds the other close and nods at Crel. Kosmo jumps to his feet as well and they move to follow her. 


	12. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold
> 
> this is a bit short but I didn't want you to wait any longer

Keith slowly opens his eyes.

His eyelids feel heavy, like he hasn’t used them in a while. 

He is ready to face blinding light and voices but the first thing he sees is a dark hallway in the castleship. 

He frowns and blinks a few times, taking in his surroundings. Usually those hallways are filled with light, but the usually bright lines on the walls are pulsing in a dark blue. 

Keith whirls around in confusion. 

He isn’t supposed to be here. 

“Keith” A familiar voice echoes through the hallway and the red paladin turns around again but he is still alone. 

“Hello?” He asks and steps forward hesitantly. 

“Keith” This time it’s a whisper. 

Keith looks over his shoulder but there’s no one. 

“Where are you guys?” He calls. 

“Keith!” The voice sounds scared as it cries. 

“Yes! I’m here!” He answers and starts walking. The voices are getting louder and he is finally able to make out who they belong to.

Shiro

Pidge

Hunk

Allura

Coran

Keith starts running down the hallway. These are his friends. They need his help. 

The voices start to scream at him and it sounds like they are yelling right into his ears. 

“I’m coming!” He cries breathlessly as he forces his legs to go faster. 

He reaches the end of the hallway and looks left, then right, but both ways end in absolute darkness. 

“Keith!”

“Keith?”

“Keith, what are you doing?!”

He covers his ears and shuts his eyes. “Shut up! I’m trying!” He stumbles back and his back hits the wall. 

Then, suddenly, the voices stop. 

Keith freezes and slowly drops his hands and opens his eyes. 

There, right in front of him, are his friends, staring at him. 

“There you are.” He gasps and steps forward, reaching out with one hand. The lights flicker and when he looks at them again, a panicked cry escapes him. 

They are covered in bruises and blood, their armour ripped to pieces. Shiro is missing an eye, Pidge has blood running down her chin, Hunk is desperately trying to push his guts back inside of his body, Allura’s hair is shaved off and her body is covered in wounds and Coran’s skin is white and leathery like he’s been dead for days already. 

“W-what happened?” Keith breathes.

“You know exactly what happened.” Shiro hisses. 

“You betrayed us.” Allura tells him furiously. 

“We were supposed to look out for each other.” Hunk cries. 

Keith stumbles back and shakes his head to himself as he watches them step closer. “No…”

“I was just a child!” Pidge yells. 

“We should’ve never trusted you.” Coran sighs while shaking his head. 

“I didn’t want to.” Keith pleads. “I’m sorry.”

“Yes, you didn’t want to.” Shiro says as he stops right in front of Keith. “And what are you doing now? Not once did you try to escape. You do whatever he says.”

“That’s not true!”

“You let him fuck you and you enjoy it while your friends are fighting for their lives.”

“You forgot about us!” Pidge barks. 

“And you really think we are better off without you.” Hunk whispers. 

“We needed you!”

“Traitor!”

“I thought we were friends!”

“We were a team!”

Voices start melting together as they keep insulting him and Keith can’t help but wrap his arms around himself and cry while he listens. “I’m sorry.” He sobs. “I’m so sorry.”

“Keith” 

The red paladin looks up to see Shiro looking down at him. 

“You are not my brother anymore.”

 

Keith screams and shoots up into a sitting position. He is panting, his heart beating loudly in his chest. 

“Hey, calm down.” A soft voice tells him and he looks around the room, spotting a small alien with huge dark eyes. “Everything is alright. You’re safe.” She tells him. “I’m Crel. I doubt you remember me.”

Keith stares at her in shock and pulls his knees up to his chest protectively. “Who...who are you?”

“I looked after you while you were sick.” She lifts her thin arms. “And this is my place.”

Keith finally notices that he doesn’t recognizes the room he is in. It’s small, with grey walls and barely any furniture. Merely a desk and a dresser decorate the room. The bed he is in is tiny and the sheets are torn. 

“What do you remember?” Crel asks him as she hands him a glass. 

He narrows his eyes at the gesture. 

“It’s water. Don’t worry.” 

Keith still hesitates but slowly reaches out to take the glass. He takes a sip and when he realizes that it really is water, he gulps it down desperately. 

“That’s it.” Crel chuckles. “We tried to keep you hydrated but it was difficult.”

Keith lowers the glass, holding it in both hands. “We?”

Crel slowly takes the empty glass from him and places it on the desk to refill it. “Do you remember who you came here with?”

The red paladin watches her lazily while he thinks. “Lance…” He mumbles. “I came here with Lance!” He blinks and looks around again like he just woke up from another deep slumber. “The club...He got me a drink.”

“Which had some Blue Clymax in it.”

Keith frowns. “Blue what?”

“It’s a common party drug. Humans are immune to it but for Galra it’s poisonous.” Crel explains while handing Keith the glass again. “We tested it on Lance. No reaction whatsoever. In fact, you being part human is probably the only reason why there’s no permanent damage.” She pauses. “At least I hope so. We’ll know after a few days.”

“Okay” Keith takes a sip of the water. “Where is Lance?”

Crel steps over to the dirty window and looks outside. “There was a sand storm yesterday. He’s helping out with fixing the town.”

Keith raises his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Yes. A few houses got damaged and he offered to help. He’s a real sweetheart. He even fixed my stove.”

Keith blinks at her like she’s crazy. “Lance fixed your stove.” He says slowly. “The guy who came here with me.”

Crel simply nods. 

“You know, dark skin, brown hair, blue eyes. That guy?”

She nods again. 

Keith shakes his head to himself and hands her the glass. “I need to see him.” He mumbles while slowly crawling out of the bed. 

Crel jumps in front of him. “You need to rest more. You shouldn’t walk around just yet.”

But Keith ignores her and carefully gets to his feet. He is still wearing the black outfit they found in the rebel ship, just the coat is missing. 

“Keith! Please sit down!” Crel pleads but the red paladin is already stumbling over to the door. He pushes it open and squeaks in shock when two yellow eyes meet his. 

“What the…” He hisses and holds onto the door frame as the huge alien wolf rubs against his legs. 

“Ah, Lance mentioned that you might be a bit confused. That’s Kosmo.”

“Kosmo?” Keith asks as he watches the animal starts panting happily and wagging its tail. 

“He let no one near you except for Lance and I.”

“Huh” Keith crouches down and carefully reaches out to run his fingers through Kosmo’s fur. “Meza mentioned you might be able to change forms but…” He looks up at Crel. “He’s been like this the whole time?”

“Yes”

“Wow” He faces Kosmo again and wraps both arms around him. “Thanks, buddy.”

Kosmo yipps happily and rubs against Keith. 

“Crel?”

Keith looks up at the voice, followed by a door falling shut. 

“There he is. Go lay down, please.” Crel tells him and pushes past the paladin to walk down the narrow hallway. 

Keith lets go of Kosmo and holds onto the door frame again, pulling himself up again as he watches. He hears hushed voices and it doesn’t take long for Lance to come into view. 

“Keith!” He gasps and rushes towards him. Keith feels slightly dizzy when the former blue paladin pulls him into a tight embrace. “You have no idea how worried I was. You wouldn’t wake up and your fever kept getting worse.” Lance babbles. 

“Lance” Keith whispers. “I’m fine.”

“A week, Keith.” Lance tells him as he brings some distance between them to take in the other’s face. “You were out for a whole week. Maybe more. I think the days are longer here.”

“Then don’t hand me glowing drinks next time.” Keith chuckles. “Wait, a week?”

Lance nods seriously. “Once we actually had to put you into an ice bath because Crel was scared you wouldn’t cool down at all. Do you know how hard it is to get ice on a desert planet?”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’m just glad you’re okay now.” Lance beams at him and Keith can’t help but smile back. 

His face falls when flashes of his dream come back to him. The faces of their friends. The bruises, the wounds. 

“Keith?” Lance asks when he notices the red paladin’s unfocused gaze. “Hey, what’s up?”

Keith blinks at him and shakes his head to himself. He pushes Lance’s hands off him and leans back against the wall. 

Crel watches them closely. “I told him to stay in bed but he wouldn’t listen.”

Lance ignores her and steps closer to Keith but the raven’s eyes widen and he pushes at Lance’s chest to keep him away. “Don’t!”

“Stop it!” Lance hisses and pushes Keith’s hands away roughly. “Tell me what’s wrong this time?” He groans.

Keith whimpers and turns his head away. “I had a nightmare. Our friends...they were hurt...dying.” He whispers. “They said I was a traitor.”

Lance watches him for a moment before grabbing Keith’s shoulders. “And they’re right.”

The red paladin looks up at Lance in shock. 

“What?” Lance chuckles. “You already knew that.” He shrugs. “They probably died.”

Keith gasps and tries to push Lance away but spending a whole week in bed wasn’t beneficial for his strength. Lance easily pushes him back into the wall. 

“I wish I had something to mess with your memory again. Every time I think you’re finally over it, you freak out again.” Lance sighs and drops his hands. “There is nothing you can do about it. You can either keep working yourself up over it, or you can let it go.” He explains calmly. 

Keith drops his gaze. “Shiro said I’m not his brother anymore.”

“Shiro isn’t here. It’s just you and me. Accept it.” Lance cups Keith’s face, forcing him to look up at him again. 

Keith’s skin tingles under his touch and a strange warmth washes over him. He focuses on Lance’s eyes and nods slowly. “I’m sorry.”

Lance smiles and leans in to kiss his forehead. “Do you need to rest some more?”

“He should!” Crel interrupts. 

Lance sends her a firm look before raising an eyebrow at Keith. “We could take a little walk around town. The people here are slowly warming up to me. Some even asked about you.”

“Really?” Keith asks softly. 

“Yeah. Lui asked if he could come check on you. I told him no.”

“Lui?”

“The bouncer from the club.”

“Oh…”

“He feels bad about wanting to kill you or something.” Lance shrugs as he wraps his arm around Keith and leads him down the hallway. “I think even Elia feels bad. She was the waitress I asked for help. Not sure if you remember her.”

Keith shakes his head. 

“Doesn’t matter.” Lance smiles and leads him into a small living area. “Wait here. I’ll get your coat. It’s hot outside but your skin is white as snow so you’ll need protection from the sun.”

“Uh, okay…”

Lance rushes out of the room and Keith sits down on the sofa. The material looks worn and feels similar to leather. Just like the room he woke up in, this one looks old and dirty. The walls are covered in cracks, the floor is uneven and the few pieces of furniture look ready to fall apart. 

Slowly, Keith traces a line on the leathery surface of the sofa. His gaze lifts when he hears hushed voices. Lance and Crel are talking quietly in the hallway. 

He knows he should just wait for the other to come back but Keith’s curiosity gets the better of him as he gets up and carefully sneaks over to the door. He presses his back against the wall next to the hallway and turns his head to listen. 

“Someone is coming by later. They get the red stuff. One bag. Not more.” Lance whispers strictly. “You only give it to them if they have the money.”

“Under the sofa, right?”

Keith’s eyes move to look over at the piece of furniture again. What?

“Yes” Lance hisses quietly. “Don’t fuck up.”

Keith doesn’t hear Crel’s response because Lance’s footsteps come closer, so he rushes over to the sofa again, pretending to look out the dirty window. 

Lance walks back into the room, Keith’s black coat in hand. “Here you go.” He says with a smile. “Let’s go explore!”

Keith gets up and forces a smile as he takes the coat from Lance and puts it on. “Thanks”

The former blue paladin grabs his hand and pulls him towards the door. Keith stumbles after him. Before they step outside, he gazes over his shoulder briefly and narrows his eyes at the space underneath the sofa. 


	13. Back To You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back To You by Fame on Fire

The town looks different in the light of two suns. 

There are no bright signs, there’s no music and the streets look rather deserted. 

“I just helped with fixing the roof of Crel’s neighbors.” Lance says with a smile. He squeezes Keith’s hand and points at a house. It looks just as bad as Crel’s, but that just seems to be normal. 

“Why are you pretending to be nice?” The red paladin asks and narrows his eyes at the other. 

Lance’s smile disappears and a shiver runs down Keith’s back at the sight. 

“Pretending?” He asks. “You told me to play nice so we wouldn’t get in trouble. That’s what I’m doing.”

“You’re playing nice guy?” Keith chuckles weakly. 

“Pretty much”

“I bet that’s hard for you.”

“It is. Thanks for noticing.” Lance tells him sarcastically and rolls his eyes. 

They keep walking down the street in silence for a while. Lance’s hand is still holding onto Keith’s hand, his grip rather aggressive. 

At some point they seem to reach the centre of town. Keith recognizes the club from the night they arrived. The building is just as grey and dusty as the rest of town, the turned off neon sign the only indication that this isn’t just any other building. 

In this part of town, they actually walk past a few aliens. All of them send them strange looks. None of them seem hostile though, more nervous and interested. 

Or at least that’s what Keith interprets the looks sent his own way as. 

When they look at Lance, they almost look scared before they drop their gazes again. 

Keith tries to smile at a mother and her child as they walk past, but the female alien grabs her child and looks away before stomping past, making Keith frown. 

Lance turns his head and raises an eyebrow in question. “What?”

Keith looks over his shoulder at the few aliens walking around with hunched shoulders.

“What's under the sofa?” He asks before he can stop himself. 

Lance stops walking abruptly, pulling Keith to a halt as well. The red paladin looks up at Lance and shivers under the others cold gaze. 

“You heard it.” Lance says and clenches his jaw. 

Keith takes a deep breath tries to hold Lance’s gaze. “I did. Tell me.”

At first it looks like Lance is ready to charge at him, his eyes filled with rage. A surprised gasp escapes Keith when the former blue paladin slowly leans closer and smiles wickedly instead. “You couldn’t help but eavesdrop, huh?” He purrs, close enough for Keith to feel the others breath on his neck. “There is a reason why the people here leave us alone.”

Keith can’t help but whimper. He blinks and looks around briefly but the street is empty. 

“The drug that almost killed you.” Lance whispers. “There’s more and I know where to find it.”

The red paladin takes a step back. Lance is still holding onto his hand, tightening his grip as a warning. 

“What are you trying to say?” Keith breathes. 

Lance smirks and straightens his back, looking down at Keith. “The people here know where to get it as well but they’re scared to go there. Apparently there’s an old legend saying that the cave is cursed, so they won’t actually go inside. They just scratch some stuff off the outer walls. Inside, there is so much more and I’m not scared to go get it.”

Keith frowns and tries to pull his hand away but Lance still won’t let go of it. “You’re...what?”

“The blue stuff has similar effects to weed. The red stuff is more like cocaine. When I went there last time I also found a few drops of some black stuff. No one tried it yet, but I bet it’s the really bad stuff.” Lance laughs like he’s talking about a fun memory. 

Keith stares at him in disbelief. “You’re selling drugs?” He asks in shock. 

“Pretty much, yeah.”

Keith stands there for a while, watching Lance like he’s nuts, before finally yanking his hand free and whirling around to storm off. “I can’t believe you!”

Lance quickly starts running after him. “Hey, what’s your problem now?”

Keith shakes his head to himself and runs a hand through his hair in frustration. “You knew I would be pissed. That’s why you tried to hide it from me! Stop pretending.”

“I’m sorry I wanted this to be easier for you!” Lance yells after him. “Yes, I knew you’d overreact. You always do! I’m doing this for us! This is a way to earn money and if we want to get off this planet, we need money!”

“Oh, yes! My hero! Yes, I am so ungrateful!”

“You are!” Lance barks and he almost sounds like his voice breaks at some point. “All I wanted was for us to find a peaceful place to settle down! Maybe earth but it doesn’t have to be if you don’t want to go back. I don’t care. I want to forget about this war. I want to forget about the Galra and Voltron.” He pauses briefly and stops walking. “A nice little house next to a lake, maybe near the woods. I wake up in the morning and you’re there in bed with me. I go out to hunt or buy something if there’s a village or city nearby and when I come back, you are waiting for me. Kosmo is there. Maybe some kids at some point.”

Keith finally stops walking but he doesn’t turn around. He simply stares down at the ground while his mind is running wild and blank at the same time. 

“Keith…” Lance says softly. “I know I’m not who I used to be and I know that I hurt people. I don’t see what’s wrong with that but you do. That’s why the two of us need to be alone.”

Keith slowly turns around and lifts his head, wide eyes watching Lance from across the street. “Lance, I…”

“You!” Someone yells and both of them look into the direction of the voice. 

“Elia?” Lance asks and frowns. 

The one-eyed alien from the evening they arrived. The one who called Keith out for being Galra. 

Lance watches her closely as she walks down the street towards them. Keith looks from her to the former paladin and back again, not sure what to make of the situation. 

“I...what…” He mumbles in confusion. 

Elia is still walking. Nothing about her seems hostile. That changes within seconds though when she reaches behind herself and pulls out a small blaster gun. “This is it, filthy Galra.” She hisses and, without hesitation, pulls the trigger. 

Keith’s eyes widen. The gun is pointed right at him, right at his heart. Everything seems to slow down as he watches the laser beam shoot towards him, aiming for his chest. 

People say you see your life flash before your eyes when you’re facing death. Keith always knew that’s a lie. All he sees is Elia’s furious expression. He is going to die knowing the person pulling the trigger hated him for his race. 

He shuts his eyes and flinches back, not that it would save him. 

The glowing beam hits flesh and a pained moan escapes him. 

No, that’s not right. 

Keith refuses to open his eyes but he tries to concentrate on his body. Does it hurt? He feels like it should but he doesn’t feel any different. There’s no pain, no heat. Maybe he’s already dead?

After coming to the conclusion that he has no idea what’s going on, Keith slowly opens his eyes, taking in the scene in front of him. 

There is something blocking his view and it takes him a few second to realize it’s Lance. 

Lance, who is standing in front of him with spreaded arms. Well, one of his arms is hanging in the air weakly while the other moves to hold his chest. 

Did he…

“You idiot!” Elia yells. “That wasn’t meant for you!”

Keith doesn’t pay any attention to her as he slowly reaches out to touch Lance’s shoulder, who flinches. The red paladin steps around the other until they’re face to face. 

Lance’s eyes are squeezed shut, his face a pained grimace. Keith can see blood running down the hand that is clutching his chest. 

“Lance!” He cries and rushes forward to catch the former paladin when his legs give out. “No!” Keith drops down to his knees and carefully pulls Lance’s head into his lap. 

Lance coughs and blood runs down his chin. Keith reaches out with shaking hands to wipe it away. 

“I...I didn’t want…” Keith hears Elia stutter. He turns his head into her direction and sobs. 

“Leave” He hisses and lowers his gaze. “The next time I see you, you better run.”

Her eyes widen and she doesn’t hesitate long before whirling around and running off. 

Keith looks down at Lance again, who is smiling up at him weakly, his teeth and lips covered in blood. “That bitch.” He breathes. “She wanted to kill you.”

“D-don’t speak.” Keith pleads as he runs his fingers through Lance’s hair. “You’re not going to die.”

Lance chuckles and shuts his eyes. “Sure feels like it though.”

“The lakehouse.” Keith says quickly. 

“That’s not going to happen.” Lance whispers with a sad smile before his head rolls to the side. 

Keith watches him with wide eyes and starts shaking his head frantically. “No!” He curls around Lance’s body and lets out a pained cry before sitting up straight. “Kosmo!” He yells. 

Almost immediately, Kosmo appears next to him. Keith’s bloody hand shakes as he reaches out to touch the wolf. “Bring us to Crel.” He says and Kosmo shuts his eyes. 

The creature starts to glow and the brightness spreads until it surrounds Keith and Lance as well. Keith looks down at Lance again and smiles. “You’ll get your lakehouse.” He whispers. “And you’ll get me.”

Their surroundings change. The dirty ground beneath them turns into the worn mattress of the bed Keith woke up in. He hears a howl nearby but doesn’t pay attention to it. Instead he leans down and places a kiss on Lance’s forehead. “Just stay alive and you’ll get whatever you want.”

The door opens and Crel rushes in. “What happened?” 

“Elia wanted to shoot me. Lance took the blow instead.” Keith explains quickly. “Help him.”

Crel rushes over to the bed and inspects the wound. “The wound is deep and he’s cold.” She blinks up at Keith. “These laser guns are illegal. They burn way too hot and they don’t go through. When they hit something, the burn spreads. It’s…”

“Do something!” Keith interrupts her harshly. “I don’t care what, just…”

She lowers her head. “There is nothing I can do. I could stitch him up but the damage goes deep.” Her eyes move around frantically. “But…”

“But what?”

“I think you can help him.”

“How?”

“You are mated.” Crel tells him. “Mating bonds are strong and Galra replace blood twice as fast.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Try to take the wound from him. At least partially. Share it.”

Keith sobs and looks from her to Lance, who is barely breathing anymore. “How?”

“I can’t tell you. All I know is that Galra with a strong bond should be able to do that.”

“I’m only part Galra and he’s human!”

“It’s either that or he dies. I can’t do anything about a wound like this.”

Keith nods quickly and places a shaking hand on Lance’s chest. The fact that it doesn’t feel like it’s moving at all, makes him whimper. 

He doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t feel like he has the ability to do what Crel asks. Yes, he noticed the effects of their bond, but he never actively felt it like it is something he can touch. 

“Accept it.” He hears Crel’s voice. “I bet all you did was push the bond away. Pull it in. Grab it.”

“I don’t…”

“Do it!”

Keith whimpers and searches his mind. It feels empty, wrong. 

He tries to think about Lance. 

The moment they met for the first time after the Garrison, them bickering about is the better pilot, their trip to the pool, them actually becoming friends. 

Keith sometimes forgets that these moments are part of what brought them here and Lance still has those memories as well. He remembers the emotion behind their words and their looks, he…

Suddenly, Keith sees it behind his closed eyes. It looks like a string. It flickers a weak purple and it’s so thin, Keith almost misses it but it seems to reach out for him. 

So he grabs it and pulls. 

And his mind explodes. 

The memories he just brought up rush by him once again, but this time they’re from Lance’s perspective. Keith sees himself the way the other always sees him. He also feels the emotion behind it and his heart flutters at that. 

There is so much emotion. 

Love, trust, adoration, longing. 

Lance felt all of that and now Keith feels it too. 

And he pulls. 

And pulls. 

And pulls. 

And eventually, he opens his eyes and looks down at Lance. 

“I think you did it.” Crel whispers as she leans in to inspect the wounds once more. “It’s not nearly as deep anymore. It's almost gone.” She smiles and looks up at Keith who frowns down at the front of his shirt where a wet spot starts to form. 

“What…” Keith slurs and winces when he touches the spot. He lifts his fingers and grimaces when they are covered in blood. 

“You took too much.” Crel gasps in panic. 

“I thought Galra replace blood faster.” Keith mumbles and leans back against the headboard. 

“Well, yes…” She steps closer and grabs the hem of Keith’s shirt to lift it up and take a look at the wound. “I don’t think it reached your heart. If I patch you up right away, it might be okay. It’s still deep but it might work.” She glances over to Lance. 

“Do whatever you must.” Keith whispers. “But do it quickly. It kinda hurts.”

Crel nods and runs out of the room. “Kosmo, get Lance out of there!” She yells and a second later, Kosmo appears in the room and steps closer to the bed. He blinks up at Keith and lets out a whine. 

The red paladin smiles weakly at him and reaches out. Kosmo pushes his nose against his hand and watches him with sad eyes. “I’ll be fine.” Keith says and nods towards Lance. 

Kosmo whines again but turns towards Lance, pressing his nose against his forehead and then both of them disappear in a beam of light. 

Keith spreads his legs and holds his rolled up shirt against the wound. “I’ll be fine.” He whispers again. 

He’s barely conscious anymore when Crel comes back into the room and cuts the rest of his shirt away. 

“At least it’s not burnt.” She mumbles before patting his cheek. “Hey, stay with me.”

Keith blinks at her slowly and feels himself shake his head. “Sorry” He slurs. 

It’s like someone turns a switch and he’s gone. 


	14. Everything Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything Black by Unlike Pluto and Mike Taylor
> 
> HAPPY NEW YEAR!  
> I can't believe it's already 2019 and I'm still here, posting fanfics! Woop Woop!

Lance takes a deep breath. Fresh air fills his lungs. 

He feels like he didn’t breathe in forever so he starts panting, taking in as much as he can. 

He slowly opens his eyes and groans at the light, lifting his hand in front of his face and hesitantly peaking past his fingers. 

The view quickly makes him forget about the blinding light. 

He’s standing in high grass. It’s so green, it almost hurts his eyes more than the bright sun shining down on him. He takes in the rest of the view and gasps. A huge blue lake lies before him. On the other side of it, he can see a forest that spreads up the hills behind it. 

The sunlight warms his skin, he can hear birds chirping nearby and the slight sound of moving water. 

It’s absolutely breathtaking. 

And he knows it’s not real. 

Because he made this place up. 

Lance lowers his gaze and turns around to face the wooden cabin he knows is there. 

He looks up at it and flinches when something blinks right in front of his face. It looks like a thin string floating through the air, like part of a spider web that you only see in the right light. 

Lance slowly lifts his hand to touch it and at first it seems to move away from him but then it quickly wraps around his hand and down his arm. He inspects it further and it starts to pulse a bright violet. 

It keeps wrapping around him and he slowly starts to walk into the direction it’s pulling him which is towards the cabin. 

He pushes the door open and the string gets brighter and thicker. 

Inside, it looks just like he imagined. A small kitchen in the corner, a table for two next to it, a small couch in front of a fireplace and in the middle of the room, a wooden ladder leading up to a small space meant to be the bedroom. 

Lance looks around the room with a smile before glancing at the string again. It wraps around his arm once more and starts pulling him forward and towards the ladder. 

He almost falls against it and hesitates briefly before climbing it. The string starts pulsing brighter with each step. 

Upstairs there’s a tiny space right underneath the roof with a round window. It’s just big enough for a mattress on the floor, turning it into some kind of cozy nest. 

Also, there’s a figure lying underneath the covers. 

Lance freezes briefly before crawling onto the mattress. 

“Keith?” He asks hesitantly. 

A head of black hair moves against the pillow, a pained moan escaping the figure. 

Lance immediately rushes closer and looks at the figure, who is, indeed, Keith. 

His eyes are shut and he looks pained as he sleeps. 

Lance places a hand on his cheek and inspects him. “Keith, what…” He pulls back quickly when Keith cries out in pain. 

The former paladin gasps and pulls the covers back. 

Blood. 

It’s everywhere, staining the white sheets. 

There’s so much of it. 

Lance takes in the view in shock. He has to do something. 

But he can’t move. 

His vision starts to fade to black to the sound of Keith’s pathetic cries. 

 

~ ~ ~

 

Keith whirls around when he thinks he hears someone say his name. 

He’s back in the castle of lions. The hallways are dark again and he can barely make out shapes. 

“Someone here?” He calls anxiously. 

“Keith, what…” He hears a familiar voice in the distance, somewhere behind him. When he whirls around, there’s no one though. 

“Where are you?” Another voice asks and he turns the other way again. 

Keith opens his mouth to speak but something stops him. He looks back over his shoulder and there, at the end of the hallway, he sees something shine, so he turns and starts walking. 

Behind him, he can still make out whispers and, occasionally, cries of pain. He shakes his head and tries to ignore it, concentrating on the weak light in front of him. 

Once he’s close enough, he realizes that it’s the same thin string of violet light he saw when he was healing Lance. 

Wait. 

Lance.

Keith healed him. 

This isn’t real. 

He already knew that but it feels like everything crashes around him as the realization really starts to sink in. 

“Lance!” Keith calls and reaches out for the string. It immediately shoots towards him, wrapping around him wrist and pulling roughly, almost making him stumble forward as he starts running. 

“You betrayed us!” A voice behind him barks angrily. 

Shiro. 

“We were friends!”

Pidge.

“Look what they did to us, you filthy Galra!”

Allura.

“Why, Keith?”

Hunk.

“Such a disappointment.” 

Coran.

Keith grimaces as he forces his legs to go faster. “Shut up!” He yells so loud his throat hurts. 

The string pulses and thickens the more it wraps around him.

And then, suddenly, the hallway around him is gone and all he sees is the violet string surrounded by darkness. 

And he stops running.

The voices are gone. Everything is gone. 

Keith looks around, trying to see something. 

The string attached to his hand slowly snakes along his arm. He lowers his gaze and watches it slither across his chest, stopping above his heart. 

His usual reaction would be to shake it off but the soft pulsing of light makes him feel safe instead of threatened. 

He lifts the hand that isn’t covered in purple string and places it above his heart, holding the violet light close. 

“Okay” He whispers. 

And then he falls. 

 

~ ~ ~

 

Lance blinks his eyes open and sits up quickly. A sharp pain in his chest immediately punishes him for doing so. He gasps and looks down to see his bare chest wrapped in bandages. 

He lifts his head and looks around the room, Crel’s living room. Not the cabin. 

“Keith?” He asks and forces himself to throw his legs over the edge of the couch he’s on. 

“He saved you.” Lance looks up to see Crel stepping into the room. “I have no idea what the two of you went through or what you did but you better be grateful.”

Lance frowns up at her. “What happened? Where is he?”

“In the bedroom.” She says. “He’s still out after taking your wound. You got shot.”

“I got shot?” He lowers his head and searches his memories. “Elia...she...she tried to shoot Keith.”

“And you took the shot for him.”

“That bitch!” Lance hisses and jumps to his feet. He winces briefly. “I’ll fucking kill her.”

“You will not do such a thing. Elia is scared. All of us are.”

“That doesn’t give her the right…”

“Shut up.” Crel hisses. “I took you in because you needed help and because I think everyone deserves a second chance. The two of you are bonded. Tell me why it took you to almost die for him to accept it.”

Lance narrows his eyes at her. “Why should I tell you anything?”

“Because you owe me. I hate playing that card but I don’t have any other choice. I want to know who lives under my roof.”

Lance plops back down on the couch and leans back. “I guess I can’t argue with that.”

She nods strictly and raises her eyebrows. “So?”

Lance huffs and looks away, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. “We were paladins of Voltron.”

Crel’s strict expression turns into one of surprise. “Voltron?” She asks. “Voltron is gone.”

“Exactly. Guess who’s the reason for that.” He laughs. “Zarkon’s witch did something to me.”

Crel takes a step back at that. “Is she controlling you?”

“Nah, don’t worry. She just messed with my head a bit. I’m not on their side or anything. I did hand my friends over to the Galra though and ran off with Keith. Let’s just say we had a few arguments about that.”

“Oh, I bet. Keith is a sweet guy. He would never do something like that.” She lowers her head in thought. “So that’s why he was acting so strange when he first woke up.” Lance looks up at her in question but she shakes her head. “Great. And I lead him right back to you.”

“Thanks for that. Can I see him?”

“No”

“No?”

“No. When he wakes up, I will talk to him. If he agrees, you’re allowed to see him.”

Lance gets up again and steps towards Crel, glaring down at the small alien. “And why should I do what you say?”

“Because you’re in my town and the people here won’t hesitate to blast another laser beam through your chest if I tell them.” She raises her chin. “You will wait and then we’ll talk about what we’re going to do. Also, your drug selling business.” She gives his chest a sharp slap. “Shame on you.”

“Ouch!” Lance hisses and steps back. “You’re a mean little alien.”

“And you’re a big psycho one.”

 

~ ~ ~

 

Keith is drowning. 

One second, everything is black, and the next he feels like he’s falling and hitting the surface of water. It’s ice cold and seems to wrap around his limbs to pull him down. 

He knows this isn’t real but the feeling of not being able to breathe makes him panic anyway. 

Keith starts thrashing around frantically. Everything is dark and he doesn’t even know if he’s desperately trying to swim towards the surface or simply deeper into the icy waters. 

It feels like forever until he realizes it’s not getting him anywhere so he stops struggling. His lungs are screaming at him to breathe. He needs air. 

This is it. 

Keith parts his lips, a few last bubbles escaping him.

Images fill his head. All the moments in his life that he treasures. His father, Shiro, his friends, everything they’ve been through. 

Then the images fade into darkness as fast as they appeared and he blinks in confusion when a purple light starts to shine somewhere above him. He lifts his head, his aching lungs somehow forgotten and the cold water around him turning warmer. 

Then he sees it, the purple string as it slowly sinks down to him. He moves away at first, something about it feeling like a threat all of a sudden. 

This time it’s not moving to wrap around him. It’s simply hanging there in front of him. Keith looks up at the blinding light where the string’s origin seems to be. 

It doesn’t make him feel safe. It’s radiating a welcoming heat, offering to help, but it still feels wrong and corrupted. 

Keith knows exactly what it means. 

He forces his weak limbs to push him forward and slowly reach out to grab it. 

The moment his hand wraps around the string it pulses with light and then rushes to the surface, pulling Keith along. He groans at the speed and the light that’s rushing towards him. 

And then he’s not surrounded by water anymore but lying on his back on something soft. 

He can’t remember closing his eyes and when he opens then, a bright light blinds him. It’s not purple this time. 

No, it’s the sun and he’s lying in the grass next to a lake. 

Slowly, he sits up and takes in his surroundings. The lake, the forest, the hills in the distance, the blue sky and the warm sun. 

He pushes himself to his feet and watches everything in wonder. 

And he just knows that he has to turn around, so he does and there it is. The cabin. 

For a second, he thinks he hears voices behind him, coming from the lake. The voices of his friends calling for him, but he pushes them away and starts walking towards the lakehouse. 


	15. Don't Wait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't Wait by Joey Graceffa
> 
> I'm not happy with this chapter but I doubt it'll get better if I wait another two weeks so here it is.

Lance is sitting on the couch, his leg shaking nervously as he glares out the window. 

Crel told him Keith should wake up by the end of the day, that he should be fine since the wound wasn’t as bad as is had been on Lance. 

Still, Elia tried to hurt - or even kill - Keith. 

And Lance can’t do a single thing about it. He wishes he could just go out there and bash her brains in but Crel is right. The whole town would be against him if he did anything like that. Keith probably wouldn’t approve of it either. 

Something touches his elbow and Lance turns his head to see Kosmo sitting on the couch next to him, his eyes sad as he blinks up at Lance. 

Lance reaches out to rub behind the wolf’s ear. “We need to get out of here.” He whispers and glances up briefly but Crel is still with Keith. “All we need is some sort of energy source.” He mumbles. 

Kosmo tilts his head to the side in question. 

“One of those Balmeran crystals would be great right now.” Lance chuckles and sinks further into the couch. 

Kosmo keeps watching him. 

“Or some raw quintessence. Honestly, I understand why the Galra love that stuff so much.”

Again, Kosmo blinks at him. 

“I wish you could understand me.” 

Kosmo simply huffs at that. 

 

~ ~ ~

 

Keith pushes the wooden door open and hesitates before taking a deep breath and stepping inside. The cabin looks way smaller on the outside than it actually is. 

“Wow” He gasps and steps further inside, taking it all in. 

The kitchen, the small table, the fireplace. It’s like the bigger, comfier and less lonely version of his cabin in the desert. 

Eventually he reaches the wooden ladder leading up underneath the roof. He reaches out to attempt and climb it when he hears footsteps outside. 

Keith’s head whirls around and he stares at the door as the noise gets closer. 

Then the door opens and Lance steps in, carrying a huge backpack. 

“Lance…” Keith gasps and drops his hand. 

Lance looks up at him and smiles. “Hey!” He puts down the backpack carefully before stepping over to Keith and casually wrapping his arms around the others waist. “I actually went to the market today. You didn’t even stir when I got up this morning.” He chuckles. “Well, more like the middle of the night.” He places a kiss on Keith’s cheek and steps back, grabbing the backpack and placing it on the kitchen counter. “I sold some of the herbs you collected in the forest last week. I hope that’s okay. Anyway, it got us supplies for two weeks and a bottle of wine.” Lance beams at Keith as he starts unpacking. 

Keith keeps staring at him.

Lance holds up the bottle like a price before placing it on the counter next to the rest of the things he got. “Turns out those blue leaves you found are rare as fuck. We can make a fortune of this.”

Keith is still staring. 

Lance’s smile fades and he steps over to Keith again. “Are you okay?”

Keith frowns up at him. “I...I don’t know.”

The former blue paladin hums at that and reaches out to grab Keith’s shoulders before looking around the room. “Well, this is it.”

“What?”

“This is the plan. Don’t you like it?”

Keith glances around briefly. The sun shining through the windows, the scent of wood around them, the sounds of nature in the distance. “This isn’t real.” He looks up at Lance again. “Right?”

Lance laughs and shakes his head. “No, it’s not. It could be though.” He pauses. “Do you want that?”

Keith shuts his eyes and tries to find an answer to that question. Does he want this to be real? Yes, desperately. This place is peaceful and quiet. It’s safe. It feels like home. And it’s not just about the lakehouse. 

He opens his eyes and nods. “Please”

Lance beams down at him. “Your wish is my command. You’ll have to do one little thing for me though.”

Keith nods and manages a weak smile. 

Lance leans in to whisper in his ear. “You need to let go.”

“Let go?” The red paladin asks and leans back so he can watch Lance’s face. 

“Let go of the past and let me break down the walls in here.” Lance taps two fingers against Keith’s forehead. 

Keith doesn’t flinch but his smile fades. “Why?”

“That’s the only way for this to work out.” Lance purrs. “Let me in.”

Keith lowers his gaze before looking around the room again, taking it all in. 

He wants this. He wants peace and quiet. He wants the guilt to disappear, the voices to stop haunting him. 

And so he nods and looks up at Lance again, who smiles at him and places a kiss on his forehead before pulling him in to connect their lips. 

And that’s when he wakes up. 

He opens his eyes and the grey ceiling seems to mock him. He glares up at it and attempts to sit up, but a small hand on his stomach stops him. 

“Be careful. You’re nowhere near healed.” Crel tells him and he turns his head to look at her but pushes her hand away and sits up anyway, ignoring the pain in his chest. 

“I’m okay. Where’s Lance?”

Crel narrows her eyes. “I’m not letting him near you right now. First, I want you to tell me what happened. He said you were paladins of Voltron.”

Keith winces and pushes the covers back. “That’s over.”

“Keith, what did he do?”

He slowly moves his legs over the edge and gets to his feet. “He handed them over to the Galra.” He deadpans. 

Crel puts her hands up, trying to stop him from getting up but he ignores her. “Why are you with him?” She asks instead of voicing her concern about his wellbeing.

“Because he took me with him.” He sighs. “What else do you want to know?” He pushes her aside and stumbles over to the door slowly. “Yes, he betrayed their trust and made sure the Galra got what they wanted.” Keith tells her through gritted teeth. “He fucked me in the Blue Lion.” He holds his chest when the pain gets worse. “He made me forget who I am. He stole a rebel ship. He is selling drugs.” Keith made it to the door, holding onto the wall next to it. “He is an absolute psychopath.”

Crel slowly steps closer to him. “Keith, we can help you.”

Keith leans his forehead against the wall and laughs pathetically. “No, you can’t.”

“Yes, we’ll make sure he never comes close to you again.”

Keith starts shaking his head. “No” He turns around to glare down at her. “You don’t get it.”

“Then explain it to me. I know you’re not like him.”

“I love him.” Keith blurts out. 

Crel’s mouth falls open at that. 

“He’s crazy, he’s obsessive and I love him.” Keith continues with a small smile. “I don’t expect you to understand it.” He shrugs and slowly steps out of the room, leaving Crel to stare after him in shock. 

Keith uses the wall as support as he makes his way down the narrow hallway and into the living room. “Lance” He gasps when he spots the other sitting there. 

Lance looks up in shock. “Keith” He gets up and starts making his way over to the other but Keith is already rushing towards him. Lance quickly wraps his arms around him when Keith crashes into him. “Keith, what the hell?” Lance chuckles. 

Keith whimpers in pain and Lance quickly drops his arms, holding the raven’s hips instead. 

“You shouldn’t be walking around.” Lance says and leads him over to the couch to sit down. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

“I saw it.” Keith breathes once he’s comfortable. “I saw the lakehouse.”

Lance blinks at him in question. “What?”

“While I was out, I saw it. I was there. You were too.” Keith tells him softly. “You came back from the market with supplies.”

“Okay?” Lance smirks at him. 

“I want that.”

“Huh?”

“You and me.” Keith whispers and shuts his eyes for a moment. “Just you and me.”

Lance observes him closely, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Really?”

Keith nods and leans closer to Lance. “Really” He blinks up at Lance. 

“Who are you and where is the real Keith?” Lance laughs. “Why the change of heart? You’re rather enthusiastic about this all of a sudden.”

Keith shrugs. “Does it matter?”

“I guess not. We still need to find out how to reach that goal though.”

“We need to power up the ship. And we need to do it soon.” Keith says quickly. “I don’t think the people here will accept us much longer.”

Lance nods and glares up at the doorway. “Yeah, Crel knows.”

Keith follows his gaze. “Until we have a way to leave this planet, we need to keep playing nice.”

“Playing nice?”

“Yeah, we can’t give them a reason to distrust us. Like you did for the first week.” Keith hesitates. “And stop selling drugs.”

“You’re no fun.” Lance chuckles. “But, for once, I think you’re right.”

“For once?” Keith chuckles. “Rude. We could’ve avoided a lot of our problems if you listened to me.”

“All of my decisions got us to where we are now and, I don’t know about you, but I’m rather happy with the outcome.”

“You got shot.”

“I took a bullet for you.”

“It was a laser beam.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Also I kind of took it onto me.”

“Minor details.”

“Fuck you.” 

“I love you.”

“Boys” A third voice cuts in and both of them look up to see Crel stepping into the room. “We should talk.”

Keith glances at her before sending a pointed look at Lance, who groans and gets up, raising his hands in defeat. “Okay, listen. All we want is to power up our ship as soon as possible so we can get out of here.”

Crel narrows her eyes. “Good, there’s a rebel ship coming with supplies in about two weeks. They should have what you need. Until then, I want you two to behave. Try to fit in as best as you can.”

“What about Elia?” Keith asks. 

Lance looks down at him before glaring at Crel. “Yeah! That bitch tried to shoot Keith!”

She tiny alien shakes her head. “You will stay away from her. I will talk to her.”

“You will talk to her. Wow.” Lance hisses. “She tried to kill him.”

“I know and I totally understand your point but if we make a big deal out of it, there will be panic. We can’t have that. Your time here is limited. Stay under the radar.”

Lance rolls his eyes and looks away. 

“Do you understand?” Crel barks and takes a step towards them. 

“Yes!” Lance hisses. “Geez, calm down. I get it, okay?”

“I’ll look after him.” Keith chuckles. 

Crel nods slowly and takes a deep breath. “Great, now that that’s discussed, the window in the bathroom won’t close.”

Both boys blink up at her in question. 

She reaches up and lightly slaps Lance’s arm. “Well, get to it!”

He flinches away and glares at her before stomping out of the room. 

Crel looks after him before turning to face Keith. “How are you feeling?”

He shrugs and leans back. “Okay, I guess.”

“If you need help…”

“I’m fine and I don’t need anyone’s help.” He says quickly. “I’m thankful for all you’ve done but in two weeks, we’ll be gone. Nothing can change that.”

She sighs and turns to leave. “Let’s hope it works out.”

Keith watches her walk out of the room. He wraps his arms around himself carefully and shuts his eyes. Just two weeks. 

“I told you to fix it! Not rip it out!” He hears Crel yell, followed by a pained gasp by Lance. 

Keith can’t help but chuckle. Maybe it won’t be so bad. 


	16. Dance With The Devil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dance With The Devil by Breaking Benjamin

“Weren’t you supposed to stop selling drugs?” Keith asks as he steps into the alley Lance’s customer just walked out of. 

Lance looks up from the blinking rocks in his hand. “Yup.”

Keith sighs and stops next to him to observe what he just received as payment. “What’s that anyway?”

“Some kind of diamond, I think. I just hope it’s worth something.” Lance puts the diamonds away and beams at Keith. “And to answer your question correctly, I am not supposed to sell that stuff anymore but I still have some left. It would be a waste not to sell it.”

“You’re a bad man.” Keith mumbles and rolls his eyes before smiling sweetly. “I won’t tell Crel.”

Lance wraps an arm around Keith’s shoulders and pulls him close. “You’re the best. I think we should go on a date.”

“I love how subtle you are.”

“Always”

“Where would we go though? There’s not much to do here.”

“True” Lance hums in thought as he leads Keith out of the alley and down the deserted street. “Let’s skip the date part then.”

Keith pouts up at Lance. “So… No date?”

“No date, just what comes after.”

“Which would be?”

Lance looks down at him and smirks. “Guess.”

“Please don’t tell me you think every date should end with sex.”

“Of course! That’s exactly what I think!” He leans closer to Keith. “So will you be my sex date?”

Keith chuckles in embarrassment. “If you find a place where no one will see or hear us.”

“Crel isn’t always home.”

“I will not do it in her bed.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Also…” Keith hesitantly pushes Lance’s arm off him. “I think I’m worth more than a sex date. I don’t care how you do it but I want a proper date.”

“That’s not fair!”

“You want in my pants? Impress me.” Keith smirks up at him and starts walking faster, swaying his hips dramatically. 

Lance bites his lip as he watches his boyfriend’s behind. “I’ll take you on the best date ever, babe!” He calls after Keith before speeding up and wrapping both arms around Keith’s waist, hoisting him into the air, making him squeal. 

“Lance! Let go!” Keith giggles and struggles until Lance puts him down again. The red paladin whirls around and glares up at Lance playfully. “You  _ better _ take me on the  _ best _ date.”

“You know I will.”

 

~ ~ ~

 

“Kosmo, I have no idea what to do.” Lance whines as he plops down on the couch next to the wolf. Kosmo lifts his head from his paws and tilts his head to the side in question. 

Keith just went into the bathroom to take a shower which might take a while considering the minimal amount of water coming out of the showerhead. It always takes him forever to get the shampoo out of his hair. 

“This place is a shithole!” Lance keeps groaning, “Where could I possibly take him to impress him?”

Kosmo huffs and suddenly jumps from the couch. Lance startles at the movement. 

“Woah, you alright, buddy?” Lance asks before Kosmo wags his tail and jumps towards him. “Kosmo!”

Kosmo’s body crashes into his and suddenly the couch underneath Lance seems to disappear. He quickly realizes that Kosmo is teleporting them. 

Lance’s butt hits hard ground and he groans at the pain shooting up his spine. “Geez! Kosmo! What the hell?!” He gasps, his eyes shut in pain. 

Somewhere in front of him, Kosmo yips happily and Lance opens his eyes. He quickly forgets about his pain at the sight in front of him. 

He’s in a cave, possibly somewhere near where he finds the crystals for Clymax. The colorful crystals are nowhere to be seen though. Instead there is a huge glowing underground lake. In the middle of it, there seems to be a small island with a few bushes and flowers on it. There’s light shining down on it so there has to be a hole up there letting the sunlight in. 

Lance steps closer to the water and looks down into it. On the ground of the lake are green vines looking like snakes covering the stone. He looks up at the cave walls where the vines continue. 

“I guess I finally know where you spend most of your time.” Lance chuckles and looks down at Kosmo, who is wagging his tail and panting happily. “This place is beautiful.” He says softly. “But is it safe for Keith? I don’t want him to actually die of happiness after this.”

Kosmo huffs and simply jumps into the water. Lance flinches when a few drops hit him. The wolf paddles around happily and yips up at Lance before pushing his head underwater briefly. 

“You sure about it?” Lance sighs. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, but you’re a space wolf and I don’t even know if you understand me.”

Kosmo pushes his nose underwater and watches Lance with glowing eyes. It looks like he’s glaring. 

“Sorry, buddy!” 

Kosmo disappears in a beam of light and Lance blinks in confusion before looking around. It’s already too late when he finds the wolf behind him. He whirls around but Kosmo jumps up and puts his front paws on Lance’s chest, pushing him back so he loses his footing and falls into the water. 

It takes him a few seconds to realize what happened before he pushes himself to the surface. “What the fuck?!” Lance yells and wipes water off his face to glare at Kosmo. The wolf is still standing in front of the lake, looking unimpressed. 

Lance rolls his eyes and swims back to the edge. “You are absolutely sure there is nothing toxic in here?” He asks. 

Wolf gives him a brief nod. 

“Fine, I guess you know what you’re doing.” He sighs and pulls himself out of the water. “You love Keith more than anything so you wouldn’t let me take him anywhere dangerous, right?”

Kosmo nods again. 

“Okay!” Lance throws his hands in the air before putting them on his hips and looking around again. “So, this will be our date.”

Kosmo nudges his hand and Lance looks down and scratches behind his ear. 

“Thanks, buddy.”

 

~ ~ ~

 

So maybe it won’t be the best date ever. Lance wishes he had a way to get some nice clothes or decent food but the city barely sells simple shirts and pants that look more like rags and the food is...let’s say they won’t starve but eating is more a necessity than something enjoyable. 

He did find some snacks in their stolen ship though. That’ll have to do. 

“Really? A blindfold?” Keith asks the next day when Lance holds out the rag. 

“Would you mind playing along for once?” 

The raven huffs and takes it from Lance. “This better be good.” He mumbles as he starts covering his eyes and fastening it behind his head. 

“Stop being so grumpy all the time.” Lance sing-songs as he sneaks behind Keith, grabbing his shoulders. “I can’t promise it’ll be the best date ever but it’s the best I can do.”

“Wow, now I’m excited.”

“You know what? Fuck you, Kogane.” Lance sighs but there’s no venom behind the words. “Ready?”

“I guess.”

Lance smiles down at Kosmo. The wolf starts wagging his tail and pushes his nose against Keith’s hand. Lance makes sure to tighten his grip on the other and then everything lights up around them. 

When he blinks again, they are in the cave. It looks different this time since the sun is already setting, giving the tiny island a golden glow. 

“You made Kosmo teleport us.” Keith says. 

Lance takes in the view happily and kisses the back of Keith’s head. “Yup! Take off the blindfold.”

Keith reaches up and pulls the rag off his head. He blinks a few times, seemingly taking in his surroundings. “This…” He pauses and looks up, noticing the hole in the ceiling illuminating the plants. “Where are we?” He gasps.

“Gotta ask Kosmo. He brought me here.”

Keith turns around and looks up at Lance. “I’m not going to joke about how the dog had to find a good place for a date. For now.”

“First of all, rude. Also, don’t call him a dog.”

Keith rolls his eyes and smiles playfully before leaning in to place a kiss on Lance’s lips. “You’re an idiot but this place is really beautiful.”

Lance looks around again briefly and nods. “It’s pretty great.”

Keith smirks and steps back slowly. “So…” He fiddles with the hem of his shirt. “Are we going skinny dipping or what?”

 

~ ~ ~

 

“You’re kidding me! You really found them?”

“Not yet.” Shiro tells Pidge through the com. “But I found the ship Matt told us about.”

“Holy fuck! Okay! They can’t be far away, right?”

“I’d assume so, yes. There was a town not too far from here. I’ll go there. Maybe someone saw them.”

“You do that. Be careful. Don’t underestimate them.” Pidge hesitates. “And Shiro, please don’t hesitate to use what I gave you.”

“I won’t. Later.” He turns the com off and starts walking into the direction where he saw the town. 

It seems impossible that they actually managed to locate them. 

After the Galra imprisoned them and locked their lions away, Allura somehow managed to communicate with the mice. They were still in the castle and able to send out a distress signal. 

It didn’t take long for the rebels to come for them. The battle was bloody and they lost too many of their allies but they got their lions back and managed to get away before the Galra could follow. 

After that, they quickly decided that they had to find Lance and Keith. And then Matt, who hadn’t been on the rescue mission, called to tell them that apparently the two appeared on some random planet, shot him in the leg and stole their ship. 

It was easy for Pidge to locate it, so Shiro didn’t waste any time. He took Black and went to check it out. 

So now he’s on some desert planet and about to enter an alien town in search of their two missing paladins. 

He reaches the top of the dune and quickly slides down until there’s solid ground underneath his feet. The streets in front of him look empty and dirty but in the distance he can make out figures moving around. 

Shiro stomps through the streets and up to two slender aliens with pale yellow skin. 

“Excuse me?” He asks and they freeze, staring at him in shock. “I am looking for someone.”

The aliens take in his paladin armor and while one of them steps back and shakes their head, the other lifts their head confidently. “The humans?” He asks. 

“Yes,” Shiro nods. “They look like…”

“Lance and Keith”

Shiro blinks at them and nods. “Exactly, you know them?”

The alien nods. “They are living at Crel’s place.”

“Olie, you really shouldn’t tell him that.” The second one says softly. 

“No, Galtor. These two never belonged here in the first place. We can’t have an enemy running around.”

“Keith never hurt anyone.”

“Shut it. I’m sick of everyone defending him.”

Shiro watches them dumbfoundedly. “Uh, sorry. Where does Crel live? Could you show me?”

Olie nods and glares at Galtor before points down the street. “Go down that street. Third to last house on the right.”

Shiro follows with his eyes and nods. “Alright, thank you.” He smiles briefly before walking past them and towards the house. 

He takes in the dirty buildings and makes sure he is standing in front of the right one before knocking. It takes about a minute for the door to open, revealing a tiny alien blinking up at him. 

Crel’s eyes widen. “Oh” She seems frozen for a few seconds before stepping back and motioning for him to come inside. “Please”

Shiro hesitates before slowly stepping past her. “You’re Crel?”

She shuts the door quickly and nods. “Yes and you’re a paladin of Voltron. So what I heard is true. You managed to escape.”

“Yes”

“That’s good. I bet Keith will be glad.”

Shiro’s stern expression crumbles at that. “Keith… Is he here?”

Crel shakes her head. “They went out.”

“They…” Shiro narrows his eyes. “As in…”

“Lance is with him.”

The black paladin takes a deep breath and nods. “Tell me what you know.”


	17. Mad About You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mad About You by Hooverphonic

“You know, I wish I had had something to prepare a picnic with,” Lance sighs as he reaches for his boxers that somehow ended up in one of the bushes on the small island. “Strawberries and some red wine would be awesome right now.”

Keith chuckles softly. Unlike Lance, he’s still naked, lying on his stomach in the grass near the water. His chin is resting on his arm and his free hand is tracing through the water. The movement makes tiny golden particles light up around his fingers. 

Lance steps next to him once he’s dressed, letting out a huff. “Why isn’t that happening when I touch it?”

Keith glances up at him and shrugs before looking down into the water again. He pulls his hand out and watches as the particles stop glowing and basically disappear. When he slowly dips his fingers back in, they immediately start up again, gathering around his hand. “Meza said I have a lot of energy. That’s probably it.”

Lance sits down next to him. “I’d like to know why.” He mumbles. “I mean, is it random or is it about your mixed heritage?”

“No idea. Don’t care.”

The former blue paladin chuckles as his eyes slowly move up and down Keith’s body. “You look beautiful like that, you know?”

Keith looks up at him again. “You’re just saying that because I’m naked.”

“I always think you’re beautiful.” Lance moves a bit closer and slowly reaches out to trail a finger down Keith’s spine. “You know, this is how I picture you in our lake house.”

“Naked?”

“Yep”

Keith smiles sheepishly. “Well, I guess that’s going to be the case sometimes.”

“No, not sometimes,” Lance tells him with a grin. “Always. There’s no one else around. No need for clothes.”

Keith rolls his eyes and looks down at the water again. “You’d love that, huh? Me being your naked little housewife.”

“Yes, sounds perfect.”

“You’re crazy.”

“You knew that.”

Keith nods and slowly sits up. He opens his mouth to speak but is quickly stopped by a noise behind them. Both jump in shock when Kosmo appears and immediately starts howling. 

Keith frowns and makes to get up but Lance is faster. He jumps to his feet and rushes over to the wolf. “Hey, boy. What’s up?”

Kosmo jumps up, putting his front paws on Lance’s chest, howling loudly. 

“Kosmo!” Keith snaps as he gets up as well. He grabs his coat from a nearby bush and puts it on before making his way over to the two. “Calm down!”

Kosmo gets down and starts jumping around in circles. 

Lance glances at Keith, who blinks back at him before looking up at the hole in the ceiling. “He’s trying to tell us something.”

Kosmo yips and rushes towards them, carefully taking the hem of Keith’s coat between his teeth before pulling. 

Lance groans. “I guess date night is over.” He stomps over to the rest of Keith’s clothes, grabbing them and throwing them at the other. “Get dressed,” He snaps. “Whoever is fucking shit up has it coming.”

 

~ ~ ~

 

Shiro is sitting on Crel’s couch, holding a cup with something resembling coffee in his hands as he stares at nothing in particular. 

“It will be hard,” Crel says while looking out the window. “I tried to talk to Keith but he won’t listen.”

“He’s stubborn,” Shiro mumbles, still staring ahead. “But this? I was prepared for some Stockholm syndrome.” He shakes his head and shuts his eyes for a moment. “A freaking soul bond… mating bond. Whatever!” He puts the cup down before getting up. He lets out a sigh and starts pacing. 

“As far as I know, you have Altean technology and alchemy back on your ship, right? You should be able to find a solution. Just take them now and…”

“I’m not taking them,” Shiro interrupts.

“You’re not?” Crel frowns. 

“I’m taking Keith.”

Crel’s mouth opens and closes. It takes her a moment to find the right words. “You want to separate them?”

“I don’t want Lance anywhere near Voltron as long as he’s like this. Also, whatever happened to Keith won’t get better when he’s around.”

“Whatever happened to him?” Crel steps away from the window and towards Shiro. “We’re talking about a Galra mating bond. Do you even know what that means?”

“No,” Shiro crosses his arms. “And honestly, I don’t care. We’re going to break it.”

“Break it? Are you crazy?”

“I won’t just accept it! You know what Lance did. To Keith, to Voltron,” He pauses briefly. “To his friends. Keith is my little brother and I won’t allow him to be with a lunatic.”

“I understand that it’s hard to accept but breaking the bond won’t do any good. It could seriously damage Keith’s mental state.”

“I understand that it might be hard for his Galra side but he’s also human. He’ll get over it.”

Crel glares up at Shiro. “It affects his human side as well. The only reason why humans don’t have mating bonds is that the planet’s core has little to no energy. No quintessence.”

“I’m taking Keith with me and that’s it. Some space voodoo won’t change that.”

“Space voodoo?!” Crel takes a deep breath to calm herself down. “Listen, I started caring about the boys. I nursed Keith back to life twice - I want him to be safe. Lance did bad things. I mean, he started selling drugs here,” She pauses when Shiro sends her a questioning gaze. “I’m not going to tell you how there’s some good left in him; you don’t want to hear that. What I’m sure of though, is that he would never hurt Keith now that he got what he wanted.”

“Somehow that’s still not making me feel better.”

Crel huffs and shuts her eyes briefly before taking a deep breath and staring up at Shiro. “Do not separate them. It’s too late for that.” She says slowly. 

“Where is he?” Shiro asks quickly. 

“I have no idea.”

“Bullshit!”

“What is it with foreigners coming into my house and disrespecting me?!” She hisses and whirls around before stomping over to the door. She opens it and glares at Shiro. “Get out!”

The black paladin raises his chin and obeys. He walks past her and outside. 

“I know you’re not going to listen to me but let me try one more time,” Crel says and Shiro raises an eyebrow. “They wanted to find a place where they could be alone because that’s for the best. If you really want the best for Keith, then let them be.”

“Thank you for your help,” Shiro tells her with a polite smile before turning around and walking off.

 

~ ~ ~

 

“You good to go?” Lance asks. 

Keith finishes pulling his hair up into a ponytail and nods. “Yeah”

“You have your dagger?”

The red paladin frowns and shakes his head. “No, it’s at Crel’s.”

“I thought you brought it everywhere?”

“Not anymore.”

“Shit,” Lance hisses and kicks the ground. 

“We don’t even know what’s going on. Maybe it’s nothing. Kosmo might just be hungry,” Keith says with a smile. 

Lance watches him and chuckles. “You being optimistic is something I still need to get used to.” He steps towards Keith and takes his hand, ready to lean in for a kiss when Kosmo starts howling next to them. 

Both of them look at the wolf and sigh.

“We should go,” Keith says softly. 

Lance nods and clicks his tongue to get Kosmo’s attention. The wolf huffs and stops jumping around to rush over to them. He pushes between them and light engulfs them. 

Keith shuts his eyes and Lance tightens his grip on the other’s hand. The light fades quickly and both of them groan at the sun shining down on them. 

“Couldn’t you teleport us somewhere darker?” Lance groans as he drops Keith’s hand to shield his eyes. “We spent the last few hours in a cave. Have mercy.”

Keith covers his eyes immediately. “Kosmo, I love you but we gotta practice that a bit more.”

Kosmo sits down and rolls his eyes. 

“Keith! Lance!”

Both look up, blinking repeatedly. They are standing in the middle of a street. The few aliens that are around stopped to watch them. 

“What is going on?” Keith mumbles. Lance steps closer to him and narrows his eyes when he notices Elia running towards them. He opens his mouth to send some hateful insult her way, but she cuts him off. 

“I thought you weren’t in town! What are you doing here?” She cries and looks over her shoulder. 

Lance frowns at Keith who simply shrugs at him. “What’s wrong?” The former blue paladin asks the alien, forcing himself to remain calm for now. 

“Someone from Voltron is here,” She hisses quietly. “He’s looking for Keith.” 

Lance’s face goes blank at that and Keith takes in a breath.

“He talked to Crel. He’s been asking around since then. I don’t know where he is right now,” She tells them quickly.

“Why are you helping us?” Lance asks slowly, his face still void of emotion. 

“Lance, shut up!” Keith hisses, “We have bigger problems than your paranoia.”

“Don’t tell me to shut up!”

“If Shiro is here, we need to go find him.”

“Are you crazy?! We’re going back to the cave until he’s gone.” Lance grabs Keith’s hand and nods at Kosmo, who blinks at them but otherwise doesn’t move. 

“No, I want to talk to him.”

“Well, I don’t want you to talk to him.” Lance glances at Elia briefly and lowers his voice. “Also, we don't know if it really is Shiro.”

Keith weakly tries to free his arm and rolls his eyes. “Really? Who else could it be?”

“Don't know, don't care. I say we don't find out. Let's get out of here.”

“Whatever you plan on doing, you better decide right now,” Elia interrupts. 

Both boys look up in time to see Shiro stomping down the road. The black paladin looks around with narrowed eyes until he spots them and picks up his pace. 

“Fuck,” Lance groans, “Kosmo, now!”

The wolf blinks up at him in confusion. 

“No; we'll talk to him,” Keith hisses while glaring at the other. “Just trust me.”

Lance glances towards Shiro, a sad glint in his eyes. His jaw tenses and he sighs before dropping Keith’s arm. “Five minutes.”

Keith holds his arm to his chest and nods. “Five minutes,” He mumbles and leans in to place a kiss on Lance’s cheek before jogging over to Shiro. Kosmo starts to whine behind him. 

“Shiro!” Keith greets him. The black paladin stops in time for Keith to wrap his arm around him. He stands unmoving while the younger man holds him tight. After a while, he frowns as he realizes that the other doesn’t react. “Is everything alright?” He asks as he pulls back. 

Shiro looks down at him, his expression emotionless. “You’re seriously asking me if everything is alright?” The black paladin asks calmly, his eyes moving to look past Keith. 

“Shiro, don’t!” Keith says quickly and steps closer. “I’m here to talk, not to fight.”

“Talk?” Shiro chuckles bitterly. He shakes his head and looks up at the sky. “You have no idea what we went through while you were playing perfect world with that psychopath over there.”

“You need to leave,” Keith says quickly. 

Shiro blinks down at him in shock. “I… what?”

“I know Lance did awful things.” Keith pauses. “I did awful things but… you need to go back to the others. Without us.”

Shiro frowns, glancing over to Lance again. “I’m not here to get you guys. I’m here to get you. Only you.”

Keith’s eyes widen. “Only me… Shiro!”

“I know,” The black paladin says softly while grabbing Keith’s shoulders. “What you did wasn’t your fault. We can fix this.” He smiles. 

Keith mirrors him. “Really?”

“Of course. You’re still my little brother, right?” Shiro chuckles and pats Keith’s shoulders. “But we can’t fix him,” He adds, his smile disappearing. “I’m sorry.”

Keith’s face falls. “What?”

Before he notices, Shiro pulls a tiny container out of his sleeve and pushes it against Keith’s arm. He pushes a button on the back and a needle pushes through Keith’s clothes and skin. He flinches back but Shiro holds him in place. “I really am sorry, Keith,” Shiro whispers. 

Keith pushes against the other’s chest frantically but Shiro refuses to let go. 

“Hey!” Lance calls. “What are you doing?!”

Keith manages to push one of Shiro’s arms away and the Altean syringe drops to the ground. He tries to step back but his legs suddenly feel like jelly. “Shiro, w-what did you…” Keith slurs. Black dots start to fill his vision. 

“Shiro, you old fuck!” Lance yells as he stomps closer. 

Shiro looks up and glares at Lance as he wraps his arms around Keith to lift him up over his shoulder. He turns around just as ah huge shadow engulfs the town. 

Lance stops abruptly and looks up to see the black lion. It shoots down from the sky and lands right in front of Shiro, making the ground shake. 

“Shiro! Don’t you dare!” Lance yells and goes into a sprint. 

Keith looks up weakly from where he’s draped over Shiro’s shoulder. He tries to lift a hand to reach for Lance but then goes limp. 

The Black Lion lowers its head and opens its mouth. 

“Keith!” Lance cries as he keeps running. He reaches them when Shiro is about to set a foot into the lion’s jaw and grabs Keith’s arm. 

The black paladin whirls around and his fist connects with Lance’s jaw, catching him off guard and making him fall on his butt. 

“When I see you again I won’t hesitate to kill you.” Shiro says, looking down at him with narrowed eyes. 

Lance blinks and shakes his head to stop the ringing in his ears. He rubs his jaw and his view focuses just in time to see the lion’s jaw closing. 

“No!” He stumbles to his feet and jumps forward, banging his fists against the metal. “Keith!”

The lion ignores him and simply stands up. Lance scrambles out of the way so the huge paws won’t crush him. He watches as the robot roars before crouching down and shooting up into the sky. 

Then it’s quiet. 

Like nothing happened. 

Slowly, people start coming out of their houses, walking out onto the street to look up at the sky while Lance is still sitting on the ground, glaring up at the two suns while angry tears roll down his cheeks. 

“Next time we meet, I will kill  _ you _ .” 


	18. Lazy Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lazy Boy by L.I.F.T
> 
> What's that???  
> Me updating so soon????  
> I was motivated :3

Keith slowly opens his eyes. 

A way too familiar ceiling greets him. White with blue lights. 

Usually it takes him a while to come back to his senses after waking up. This time it feels different though. It’s like someone hit a switch and woke him up within a second. 

It’s probably because of his unnatural sleep. 

He sits up and fists his hands in the sheets. 

He is back in the castle of lions with the others. 

Without Lance. 

Keith kicks the sheets back and jumps off the bed. He looks around briefly. It seems to be his old room. 

He stomps towards the door and taps the touchpad next to it, ready to walk out but the screen blinks red and the door remains closed. 

“What the…” He mumbles and tries again, but the door still won’t budge. 

Keith groans and turns around. He crosses his arms and glares ahead, trying to come up with a way to get out. 

Then something catches his eye and he looks up, noticing a tiny Altean camera in the corner. 

He drops his arms and steps closer, glaring up at it. 

“Are you serious?” He asks, staring at the camera for a few seconds before whirling around and stepping into the small bathroom. He opens the cabinet and reaches for the pair of scissors he always used to trim his hair when it got too long. 

He goes back into the bedroom and, with one swift motion of his wrist, swings the tool at the camera, hitting it right in the lense. 

Sparks of electricity light up around it before the tiny ring of blue light around it dies.

“Fuck off.” He hisses quietly and lets himself plop down onto the mattress again, glaring ahead. 

About ten minutes later, the door slides open and Keith looks up as Shiro steps in. 

“Am I a prisoner now?” He asks and gets up to face the other. 

“Of course not.” Shiro states calmly. 

“Then why did you lock the door?”

“We thought you might…” He pauses. “You might be a bit disoriented when you wake up.”

“Disoriented?” Keith spits. “Why did you bring me here? I told you to leave us be!”

“I saved you!” Shiro suddenly yells, making Keith flinch back in shock. 

The black paladin’s gaze softens and he reaches out to put a hand on Keith’s shoulder but the latter pushes him away. 

“You saved someone who didn’t want to be saved.”

Shiro sighs. “Keith, please try to think rationally.”

“Oh? Am I being irrational?” Keith cries, throwing a fist up against Shiro’s chest. “Am I being ungrateful? Too emotional? Then maybe you should’ve left me behind like I did with you!”

A loud slap echoes through the room. Shiro’s metal hand hovers in the air and Keith’s head is turned to the side, his hair covering his eyes while his cheek starts to turn a bright red. 

Shiro steps back and lowers his hand. “I’m sorry…” He says quickly. “Keith…”

“Shut up.” Keith whispers as he lifts his head, glaring up at the black paladin through his fringe. “You show up out of nowhere, ruin my first actual date, drug and kidnap me just to lock me in my old room and abuse me!” He says, his voice shaking. “Why?!”

“This is where you belong!” Shiro insists. 

“You don’t know where I belong.” Keith hisses and rushes forward. He pushes past Shiro and out into the hallway where he looks around before taking off in the direction of the lions’ hangar. 

“Keith! Stop!” Keith hears Shiro somewhere behind him but ignores him. 

A sudden panic overwhelms him. He stops and cries out before dropping to his knees. His hands are shaking as he holds himself up. It gets so bad that he slips away and falls to the floor. A whimper escapes him as he squeezes his eyes shut in frustration and sudden exhaustion.

“What is...Keith?” He hears another slightly familiar voice. “Shit!”

Someone turns him onto his back before lifting him up. Keith starts shaking his head and tries to struggle against whoever is holding him. 

“Calm down, man. I’m getting you to Coran. He’ll know what to do.” The voice says soothingly. He knows that voice.

“Hunk?” He asks quietly. 

“Yep! Long time no see, buddy.”

Keith blinks a few times and finally manages to make out a face. He goes limp and sighs. “Are you going to lock me up again?” He muttered. 

“Lock you up?” Hunk asks, a hint of sadness in his voice. “No, I’m getting you to Coran like we should’ve done right away. Shiro didn’t really let us have a say in what he did.”

“He hit me.” Keith croaks. 

“He did what?!” Hunk snaps. “So that’s why your cheek is burning red.” He pauses. “Tell you what, Shiro is not getting near you again until things settled down.”

“I wanted to settle down and now I’m here again.” Keith smiles bitterly and shuts his eyes again. “Whatever.”

Hunk hums but says nothing. 

A door slides open and Keith hears more voices.  

Coran, Pidge and Allura. 

They fall silent when they notice Hunk. 

“What…” Allura starts but Coran interrupts him. 

“Hunk, put him in the pod.” He orders quickly. 

“Doesn’t he have to wear the suit?” Hunk asks, but Coran shakes his head. 

“He’s not going in there to be healed. There’s nothing to be healed.”

Hunk frowns and carries Keith over to the healing pod. “Then why are we putting him in it?”

“Let me worry about that for now.”

Keith is carefully placed in the healing pod. His legs shake as he tries to hold himself up on his own. Thankfully, the door closes quickly and cold seeps into his bones before everything goes black. 

Coran and Hunk stand in front of the pod while Allura and Pidge watch from a safe distance. 

“If what you think ends up being true, then what are we going to do about it?” Allura asks the other Altean carefully. 

“Then he can’t stay here. He’ll be in agony.”

“Oh, I’m sure Shiro will give him a ride back after all of that.” Pidge laughs sarcastically. 

“He hit Keith.” Hunk blurts out. “He doesn’t get a say in this.”

“He did what?!” Allura gasps. 

Before anyone else can speak up, the door slides open again and Shiro steps in. 

“You hit Keith?!” Pidge exclaimed. 

“I didn’t mean to.” 

“You didn’t mean to? That’s what abusive husbands say!”

“Pidge, calm down.” Coran says. 

“Shiro, mind telling us what happened now?” Allura requested strictly. 

Shiro steps closer and glares at the floor. “I got to the planet, I found Keith, I brought him home. What else do you want to know?”

“Can we talk about the elephant in the room?” Pidge asks quietly. 

“Lance” Hunk says quickly. “Did you see Lance?”

“He was there.”

“Then why didn’t you get him as well?”

“So he can wreak havoc again? No.”

“He is our friend!” Pidge cries. “We can’t just leave him behind! We need to fix him.”

“We can’t fix him!” Shiro yells. “Keith is here. Lance is not. Accept it.”

“If you want to keep arguing, then please leave.” Coran announces as he stands next to the pod, checking the vitals and tapping around on the touchpad. 

Shiro, Pidge and Allura go quiet briefly before they start barking at each other again. 

“Guys!” Hunk suddenly yells and points to the door. “Out! Now!”

They flinch at the volume of his voice before quickly rushing out of the room. Once the door closes behind them, Hunk turns to Coran again. “What does it say?”

“There’s definitely a mental and physical connection. His quintessence is out of control.” Coran explains. “This is why Shiro should’ve brought both of them. Lance probably won’t even feel anything since he’s human. Keith though...” He looks up at the pod. “It won’t kill him since he’s a half-breed but I imagine it will be pretty unpleasant for him.”

“Because of the bond?”

“Galra mate for life. Nowadays their witch found a way to prevent bonds from forming while mating but it’s in their nature to have one partner for life. If separated after being bonded, they feel immense pain. The weaker of the two usually dies if they’re not reunited in time.”

Hunk looks up at Keith with wide sad eyes. “So we didn’t save him from anything. We basically ripped him away from Lance to suffer.”

“Exactly”

 

~ ~ ~

 

Lance could swear the blade looks dull and rusty as he keeps turning it in his hands. 

He’s sitting on the dune that Keith and Lance climbed across when they first arrived on the desert planet. Since Keith was taken the day before, he tried to fix the rebel ship but without luck. He needs an energy source to power it. 

His gaze travels over the town below him as he keeps twisting the blade around that Keith involuntary left behind. When he feels a sting in his index finger, he looks down to see a drop of blood run down his hand. 

“Still as sharp as ever, huh?” Lance mumbles and gets up, wiping the blood on his dark pants. He stumbles down the dune and soon he’s walking through the streets again on his way back to Crel’s. 

“Lance”

He stops and looks back over his shoulder to see Elia stepping towards him. “What do you want?” He asks monotonously. 

“You need something to power up your ship, right?” The alien asks hesitantly. 

Lance turns to face her and raises an eyebrow in question. “Yes, why?”

She looks around and takes a step closer. “A few years ago some of us got here with a stolen Galra ship. It was powered by a small reactor. I don’t understand how it works, but it creates energy on its own. It’s not too much but it should be able to power your ship.”

“Where is it?” Lance asks quickly.

Elia blinks and looks down the street. “The bar, It’s powering the bar.” She raises her chin and meets Lance’s eye. “I’ll help you get it but I want something in return.”

“What?”

“I want you to take me with you.”

“And why would I do that?”

“I’ll help you find Keith but after that I want you to get me home.”

“Home?”

“Eusoin. That’s my home planet. Some of us left when the Galra attacked. I regret going with the others. Every day I think back and...I think I could’ve helped them but I did nothing. I ran away. Now I want to help them.”

Lance rolls his eyes. “Shut up already. You can come with me. Let’s get the reactor.” He says and pushes past her towards the club. 

She narrows her eye and says nothing as she starts to follow. 

 

~ ~ ~

 

Keith stumbles right into Hunk and Coran after they open the pod. He shivers and grimaces, trying to wrap his shaking arms around himself. 

“Easy” Hunk says and wraps an arm around Keith’s shoulders to help him stand. 

Coran steps back and watches with sad eyes. “Get him to his room and bring him some food. I’ll go get the others. This is a matter we need to discuss.”

“But…”

“We can’t decide anything for now. We’ll explain the situation and try to come up with what our options are.” Coran pauses. “And when Keith feels better, he’ll tell us what he wants to do.”

Hunk lowers his head in defeat and nods before carefully helping Keith out of the room. 

It takes them a while to get back to Keith’s room where Hunk helps him onto the bed before disappearing to get him some food goo. 

When he gets back, he places the bowl in Keith’s lap before pulling a chair closer and sitting down. “How are you feeling?”

Keith stares down at the bowl and says nothing. 

“You need to eat.”

Keith turns his head away. 

“Listen, we are trying to find a solution but until then, we can’t have you dying.” Hunk sighs. “Lance would probably kill me.”

That makes Keith look up at him. 

Hunk smiles at him before reaching out and taking the spoon next to the bowl. He leans forward and carefully places the spoon in Keith’s hand. “I know it seems like everyone is against you. That’s not true.”

Keith’s grip on the spoon tightens. 

“We never...we never blamed you. Even when we heard about Matt, we never…”

“Matt?” Keith asks. 

“He’s the one who got the rebels to free us. He told us that he saw you and that Lance shot him in the leg.” Hunk pauses. “His wound got infected by the time they managed to get the old Galra ship to work.”

“Oh…”

“There was a tracker in the rebel ship you stole. That’s how we found you.”

“Is he okay?” Keith blurts out, his wide eyes staring up at Hunk. 

“He’s alright. Got a robot leg now. He pretends he doesn’t like it but I think it makes him feel badass. He always wanted to be like Shiro, you know?” 

Keith lowers his gaze and slowly starts eating. 

Hunk watches him as he takes his first bite. Once he’s sure Keith won’t spit it back out or refuse to eat more, he looks away to give him some privacy. “How’s Lance?” He then asks. 

“Why do you want to know?” The raven mumbles between bites. 

“Because he’s my best friend.”

Keith looks up at Hunk again, who is mindlessly watching the door. He swallows his last bite and licks his lips before a chuckle escapes him. The noise gets Hunk’s full attention again. He watches as Keith’s chuckle turns into a full-blown laugh. 

Keith drops the spoon in order to hold his stomach. His whole body shakes as he keeps laughing. It almost sounds manic. 

Hunk reaches out and takes the bowl before it can fall off the bed. 

“Your best friend.” Keith giggles and then suddenly stops. “He isn’t anyone’s best friend anymore.”

Hunk takes a deep breath and places the bowl on the bedside table. “He might be different but he’s still Lance.”

Keith watches Hunk with wide bloodshot eyes. “You think you know what happened to him?” Another dry chuckle escapes him. “You have no idea. You don’t know what he did.”

Hunk leans closer. “If what he did was so bad, then why didn’t you try to leave or overpower him?”

Keith lowers his gaze and blinks at his lap. “Where’s my food?”

Hunk frowns. It takes him a second to understand and place the bowl in front of Keith again. “Keith, what happened?” 

“You don’t want to know.” The former red paladin tells him quickly before taking a bite. “Don’t worry about it. Just go to the others and come up with a nice torture method for me.”

“What? We’re not going to torture you.”

“It doesn’t matter, right?”

Hunk huffs and gets to his feet. “We’re going to help you. I promise.”

“Why? Why are you so nice to me?” Keith asks suddenly as Hunk steps over to the door. 

The yellow paladin opens the door and glances at Keith over his shoulder. “I knew about his crush on you way before this happened to him. Whenever he wasn’t with you on a mission he asked me to keep you safe. So that’s what I’m doing.”

Keith stops eating. “But he’s…”

“I don’t care, Keith. Until he tells me to stop trying to help him, I won’t stop.”

“You’re way too loyal.”

Hunk shrugs and grins. “Probably” He points at the bowl. “Eat up. I’ll check later.” And with that he walks out into the hall, the door closing behind him, leaving behind a confused Keith with a half-eaten bowl of food goo. 


End file.
